Christmas Island, Dependency of Australia is an island on the Indian Ocean located in Southeastern Asia, south of Indonesia. The Christmas Island, Dependency of Australia is said to cover a total area of 135sq.km, most of which is land, no land boundaries and 139.8km of coastline. The Christmas Island, Dependency of Australia was named for the day of its discovery in 1643 and was annexed by the UK in 1888, though sovereignty was later transferred to Australia in 1958.
The Christmas Island, Dependency of Australia has a tropical climate that is characterized by a dry season and a wet season often from December to April, with trade winds that significantly moderate heat and humidity in the island. The Christmas Island’s terrain consists mostly of steep cliffs along the coast that rise to central plateau with its highest point is the Murray Hill at 361m and it’s lowest at the Indian Ocean.
Christmas Island is mainly covered by a tropical rainforest thus necessitating the declaration of the island (about 63%) as national park in 2005. This has resulted in no land allocation for arable farming though its natural resources are phosphate and its gorgeous beaches. The Christmas Island, Dependency of Australia is located along major Indian Ocean sea lanes making it accessible if one were to tour its beautiful beaches.
The Christmas Island, Dependency of Australia faces various natural hazards due to its narrow fringing reef that surrounds the island; the potential loss of the rainforest due to modernization and phosphate mining.