thumb|Enlargeable, detailed map of Príncipe thumb|Enlargeable, detailed map of São Tomé thumb|Beach scenery on São Tomé.
São Tomé and Príncipe is a small nation composed of an archipelago located in the Gulf of Guinea of the equatorial Atlantic Ocean.
The nation's main islands are São Tomé Island and Príncipe Island, for which the country is named.
These are located about , respectively, off the northwest coast of Gabon in Central Africa.
The nation's geographic coordinates are a latitude of 1°00′N and a longitude of 7°00′E.
São Tomé and Príncipe constitute one of Africa's smallest countries, with  of coastline.
Both are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range, which also includes the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea to the northeast and Mount Cameroon on the mainland coast further northeast.
São Tomé is  long and  wide and the more mountainous of the two islands.
Its peaks reach  - Pico de São Tomé.
Principe is about  long and  wide, making it the smaller of the two.
Its peaks reach  - Pico de Príncipe.
This makes the total land area of the country , about five times the size of Washington, D.C.
Both islands are crossed by swift streams radiating down the mountains through lush forest and cropland to the sea.
Both islands at a distance of .
The equator lies immediately south of São Tomé Island, passing through an islet Ilhéu das Rolas.
The Pico Cão Grande (Great Dog Peak) is a landmark volcanic plug peak, located at  in southern São Tomé.
It rises dramatically over  above the surrounding terrain and the summit is  above sea level.
Climate
At sea level, the climate is tropical—hot and humid with average yearly temperatures of about  and little daily variation.
At the interior's higher altitudes, the average yearly temperature is , and nights are generally cool.
Annual rainfall varies from  on the southwestern slopes to  in the northern lowlands.
The rainy season runs from October to May.
Wildlife
The two islands are oceanic islands which have always been separate from mainland Central Africa and so there is a relatively low diversity of species, restricted to those that have managed to cross the sea to the islands.
However the level of endemism is high with many species occurring nowhere else in the world.
Statistics
Maritime claims:
Measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
Exclusive economic zone:
Territorial sea:
; Climate:
Tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
; Terrain:
Volcanic, mountainous
; Elevation extremes:
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean
; Natural resources:
Fish, hydropower:
; Environment—current issues:
Deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
; Environment—international agreements
Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements
Extreme points
This is a list of the extreme points of São Tomé and Príncipe, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
Northernmost point - unnamed headland on Ilhéu Bom Bom
Easternmost point - Ponta Capitão, Príncipe
Southernmost point - unnamed headland on Ilhéu das Rolas
Westernmost point - Ponta Azeitona
See also
São Tomé and Príncipe
