Saint Kitts and Nevis Parishes

Saint Kitts and Nevis is a two-island country in the Leeward Islands, the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, and its first-level map has fourteen pieces: nine parishes on Saint Kitts, the larger island, and five on Nevis, which lies across a narrow channel to the south-east. Most of the parishes are named for a saint and a district together, so the name is the clue.

The quiz: Name to place, on the map
Grouped by: Saint Kitts and Nevis, the two islands
In the game: 14 parishs

Start

What you are looking at

The fourteen parishes as the federation draws them. Saint Kitts is a long island running north-west to south-east, with a narrow neck at its south-eastern end, and its nine parishes are slices of it from the coast up the central mountains. Nevis is a single round volcanic cone, and its five parishes meet near the peak.

Four saints turn up twice, so a name on its own is not enough: there are two Saint Georges, two Saint Johns, two Saint Pauls and two Saint Thomases, and the second word of each name (Basseterre, Gingerland, Capisterre, Figtree, Charlestown, Lowland, Middle Island) says which one is meant. The groups are the two islands, which the country itself treats as its two halves, and they are a way to learn the map one island at a time.

How to place one

Split the islands first. Nevis is the round one in the south-east and every parish on it is one of five: if the island is round, it is Nevis.
Use the capitals. Basseterre, the national capital, sits on the south-west coast of Saint Kitts, and Charlestown, the capital of Nevis, on the west coast of Nevis.
Then the repeats. On each island the same saint appears twice, and the district is what separates them: Capisterre is the north-east coast of Saint Kitts and Basseterre the south-west, while on Nevis Gingerland is the south-east and Lowland the north-west.

Every parish, by island

Saint Kitts9 parishs: Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint John Capisterre, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capisterre, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point
Nevis5 parishs: Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Figtree, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Thomas Lowland

Worked examples

Saint George Basseterre

The national capital

Saint George Basseterre holds Basseterre, the capital and main port of the federation, on the south-west coast of Saint Kitts.

Saint Paul Charlestown

The Nevis capital

Saint Paul Charlestown is the parish of Charlestown, the capital of Nevis, on the island's west coast.

Saint Anne Sandy Point

The north-west

Saint Anne Sandy Point is a small parish on the north-western coast of Saint Kitts, around the town of Sandy Point.

Frequently asked questions

How many parishes does Saint Kitts and Nevis have?

Fourteen: nine on the island of Saint Kitts and five on Nevis.

Why do so many parishes share a name?

Most are named for a saint and the district they belong to, so four saints (George, John, Paul and Thomas) each give their name to two parishes, one on each part of the country, and the district tells them apart.