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==גאוגרפיה==
[[תמונה:Saint Kitts and Nevis OnEarth WMS.png|שמאל|ממוזער|256px|תצלום לווין של האיים סנט קיטס ונוויס (למטה)]]
האי נוויס נוצר לפני כ-3.45 מיליון שנים, בעקבות התפרצויות געשיות. במרכז האי ניצבת [[פיסגת נוויס]], שגובה 985 מטרים, שהיא [[הר געש]] המהווה שריד להתפרצויות קדומות אלה. ההר התפרץ לאחרונה בשנת [[1692]] אולם מעיינות חמים המופיעים באי מעידים על פעילות געשית. לאחרונה, בשנת [[1953]], הופיע מעיין חם חדש, המעיד על הפעילות הגעשית.
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The formation of the island began in [[pliocene|mid-Pliocene]] times, approximately 3.45 million years ago. Nine distinct eruptive centres from different geological ages, ranging from mid-Pliocene to [[Pleistocene]], have contributed to the formation. No single model of the island's [[Geochronology|geological evolution]] can therefore be ascertained.<ref>United Nations (2000). "Saint Kitts and Nevis: Executive Summary". ''Country Reports''. Committee on Science and Technology, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, [http://www.unccd.int/cop/reports/lac/national/2000/saint_kitts_and_nevis-summary-eng.pdf pdf file], retrieved 7 December 2006.</ref>
צורת ההר חרוטית, ובמרכזו מכתש פסגה, כאשר במרכז המכתש מצוי מכתש נוסף.
[[Nevis Peak]] (985 m /3,232 ft) is the dormant remnant of one of these ancient [[stratovolcano]]es. The last activity took place in 1692, but active [[fumaroles]] and hot springs are still found on the island, the most recent formed in 1953.<ref>[http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1600-04= "Nevis Peak"] (2006). ''Global Worldwide Holocene Volcano and Eruption Information''. Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2006.</ref> The composite cone of Nevis volcano has two overlapping summit craters that are partially filled by a lava dome, created in recent, pre-Columbian time. [[Pyroclastic flows]] and mudflows were deposited on the lower slopes of the cone simultaneously. [[Nevis Peak]] is located on the outer crater rim. Four other lava domes were constructed on the flanks of the volcano, one on the northeast flank (Madden's Mount), one on the eastern flank (Butlers Mountain), one on the northwest coast (Mount Lily) and one on the south coast (Saddle Hill).
במהלך [[עידן הקרח]] האחרון, כאשר מפלס מי הים היה נמוך בכ-60 מטרים ממפלסו הנוכחי, היו האיים נוויס, סנט קיטס וסנט אוסטאשיוס מחוברים והיוו למעשה אי אחד.
During the last [[Ice age]] when the sea level was 200 feet lower, the three islands of Saint Kitts, Nevis and [[Saint Eustatius]] (also known as Statia) were connected as one island. [[Saba]] however is separated from these three by a deeper channel.
סביב האי מצויים כיום שוניות אלמוגים, המהווים אתר צלילה תירותי. בחופו המערבי של האי (הפונה אל [[הים הקריבי]]) מפרצים (מפרץ פיני, מפרץ אואליי ומפרץ קאדס) שמימיהם השקטים מאפשרי חרצה. חופיו המזרחיים של האי פונים ל[[האוקיינוס האטלנטי|אוקיינוס האטלנטי]], ובשל הגלים העזים בהם מהווים אתר תיירותי של [[גלישת גלים]].
There are visible wave-breaking reefs along the northern and eastern shorelines. To the south and west, the reefs are located in deeper water and are suitable for scuba diving. The most developed beach on Nevis is the 4-mile (6.44 km) long Pinney's Beach, on the western or [[Caribbean]] coast. There are sheltered swimming beaches in Oualie Bay and Cades Bay. The eastern coast of the island faces into the [[Atlantic Ocean]], and can have strong surf in parts of the shore which are unprotected by fringing [[coral reef]]s. The colour of the [[sand]] on the beaches of Nevis is variable: on a lot of the bigger beaches the sand is a yellowish grey, but some beaches on the southern coast have darker, reddish, or even black sand. Under a microscope it becomes clear that Nevis sand is a mixture of tiny fragments of coral, many [[foraminifera]], and small crystals of the various mineral constituents of the [[volcanic rock]] of which the island is made.
===Colonial deforestation===
[[Image:Nevis-lookingtosea.jpg|175px|thumb|left|On the western plain, looking south south west towards Charlestown.]]
במהלך התקופה הקולוניאלית מרבית היערות באי בוראו על מנת לאפשר גידול [[קנה סוכר]]. בירוא יערות זה הביא לנזק בלתי הפיך למערכות האקולוגיות של האי. בשל בירוא היערות החלה התדלדלות הקרקע בעקבות סחף.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, massive [[deforestation]] was undertaken by the planters as the land was initially cleared for sugar cultivation. This intense land exploitation by the sugar and cotton industry lasted almost 300 years, and led to irreparable damage to the island’s original [[ecosystem]].
עם הפסקת גידול הסוכר באי, החלה צמחייה הטבעי של האי לגדול על מורדות ההר, אולם מדובר בעיקר בצמחיית שיחים ועצים נמוכים, ולא ביערות הגשם אשר גדלו באי בעבר.
In some places along the windswept southeast or "Windward" coast of the island, the landscape is radically altered compared with how it used to be in pre-colonial times.<ref name="Wilson" /> Due to extreme land erosion, the top soil was swept away, and in some places at the coast, sheer cliffs as high as 25 metres (82 feet) have developed.<ref>Wilson, Samuel (1990). "The Prehistoric Settlement Pattern of Nevis, West Indies". ''Journal of Field Archaeology'', Vol. 16, No. 4 (Winter 1989), p. 428: "The breakup of the fringing reef has itself contributed to extensive and accelerating coastal erosion on the windward coast of the island, where sea cliffs of unconsolidated volcanic gravels as high as 25 m have developed."</ref>
באי מספר מעיינות מים מתוקים המשמשים את אוכלוסיית האי. כמו כן מצויים באי מעיינות חמים געשיים רבים, אשר לא ניתן לשתות את מימיהם. מימי המעיינות המתוקים אינם מספקים ביום את תושבי האי, ועיקר מי השתיה מקורם ב-14 בארות מי תהום.
The lush primeval forest, which once covered the eastern coastal plain, where the Amerindians built their first settlements during the Aceramic period, is gone forever, and so is a large portion of the ecosystem surrounding the [[coral reef]] just offshore. It was the easy access to fresh water on the island and the rich food source represented by the ocean life sheltered by the reef that made it feasible for the Amerindians to settle this area around 600 BCE.<ref name="Wilson" /> With the loss of the natural vegetation, the balance in runoff nutrients to the reef was disturbed, eventually causing as much as 80 percent of the large eastern fringing reef to become inactive. As the reef broke apart, it in turn provided less protection for the coastline.<ref name="Wilson" />
During times of maximum cultivation, sugar cane fields stretched from the coastline of Nevis up to an altitude at which the mountain slopes were too steep and rocky to farm. Nonetheless, once the sugar industry was finally abandoned, vegetation on the leeward side of the island regrew reasonably well, as scrub and secondary forest.
===Water resources===
Nevis has several natural fresh water springs (including [[Horatio Nelson|Nelson's]] Spring), as well as many non-potable volcanic [[hot spring]]s. After heavy rains, powerful rivers of rain water pour down the numerous [[ravine]]s (known as Ghauts). When the water reaches the coastline, the corresponding coastal ponds, both freshwater and brackish, fill to capacity and beyond, spilling over into the sea.
With modern development, the springs are no longer enough to supply freshwater to the whole island. The water supply now comes mostly from Government wells. The major source of potable water for the island is groundwater, obtained from 14 active wells. Water is pumped from the wells, stored and allowed to flow by gravity to the various locations.<ref name="ECLAC"> The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). [http://www.eclac.cl/publicaciones/xml/9/13229/lcarg749-12-Chapter09.pdf “Chapter 9: St. Kitts and Nevis]. In Programme of Action for the sustainable development of small island developing States (SIDS POA). United Nations, 2003-09-29. Retrieved 28 August 2007.</ref>
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===אקלים===
אקלים האי טרופי, ואינו משתנה במהלך עונות השנה. בין החודשים מאי - נומבמבר יורדים באי גשמים טרופיים, ואילו דצמבר - אפריל מהווה העונה היבשה יחסית, אולם אף בעונה זו יורדים גשמים. בחודשים אוגוסט וספטמבר פורדות את האי סופות [[הוריקן]].
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The climate is tropical with little variation, tempered all year round (but particularly from December through February) by the steady north-easterly winds called the alizés or [[trade wind]]s. There is a slightly hotter and somewhat rainier season from May to November.
Nevis lies within the track area of tropical storms and occasional hurricanes. These storms can develop between August and October, and this time of year has the heaviest rainfalls.
In 1999, Nevis was hit by [[hurricane Lenny]], which caused some heavy damage to the island's infrastructure on the western coast.
בשנת [[1999]] פגע באי [[הוריקן לני]] אשר גרם נזק כבד לחלקו המערבי של האי.
In October 2008, Nevis was hit by [[Hurricane Omar (2008)|hurricane Omar]]. Among other establishments, The Four Seasons resort was forced to close for several months to undergo repairs.
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==תרבות==
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