Philipsburg, Sint Maarten
Philipsburg | |
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UTC−4 (AST) | |
| Climate | Aw |
Philipsburg (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfilɪbzˌbʏr(ə)x]) is the main town and capital of Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The town is on a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. It functions as the commercial center of Saint Martin island, whereof Sint Maarten encompasses the southern half. As of 2017[update], it has 1,894 inhabitants.[1]
History
Philipsburg was founded in 1763 by John Philips, a Scottish captain in the Dutch navy; the settlement soon became a centre of international trade. Two historic forts bear witness to Philipsburg's strategic importance in St. Maarten's history: Fort Amsterdam and Fort Willem.[2]
Tourism
The main shopping district, Front Street, is in the heart of the city. The city also has a port that is visited by many cruise liners.
Transport
Princess Juliana International Airport
World-famous for its close photographs of landing aircraft,
Port
- Pier 1 has length 545 m (1788 ft) and capacity to dock 4 ships simultaneously. This berthing facility was inaugurated in 2009.
- A second cruise pier (Pier 2) was opened in 2017, ranking St Maarten as one of the few Caribbean ports with capacity to handle even the world's largest passenger vessels of the Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class (225,000 GT tons, capacity 6,300 passengers plus 2150 crew). The new Pier 2 has length 445 m (1460 ft) and capacity to dock 2 Oasis-class ships at a time. On Pier 2 there are also 2 screening booths to expedite passenger disembarkation.
Education
Schools include:[3]
- Oranje School (public primary)
- Sr. Borgia Primary (subsidized primary)
- St. Joseph Primary (subsidized primary)
- Sundial School(subsidized secondary)
Philipsburg Jubilee Library is in Philipsburg.[4]
Climate
Philipsburg has a
| Climate data for Philipsburg, Sint Maarten ( Princess Juliana Airport ) 1971–2000
| |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 32.7 (90.9) |
31.6 (88.9) |
32.6 (90.7) |
33.6 (92.5) |
33.5 (92.3) |
33.9 (93.0) |
34.2 (93.6) |
35.1 (95.2) |
34.8 (94.6) |
34.3 (93.7) |
33.9 (93.0) |
32.1 (89.8) |
35.1 (95.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.6 (83.5) |
28.7 (83.7) |
29.2 (84.6) |
29.8 (85.6) |
30.4 (86.7) |
31.3 (88.3) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.7 (89.1) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.2 (88.2) |
30.2 (86.4) |
29.2 (84.6) |
30.3 (86.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.5 (77.9) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.7 (78.3) |
26.5 (79.7) |
27.4 (81.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
28.3 (82.9) |
28.6 (83.5) |
28.5 (83.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.3 (81.1) |
26.1 (79.0) |
27.2 (81.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.2 (73.8) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.5 (74.3) |
24.1 (75.4) |
25.1 (77.2) |
25.2 (77.4) |
26.1 (79.0) |
26.2 (79.2) |
26.0 (78.8) |
25.7 (78.3) |
24.9 (76.8) |
23.9 (75.0) |
24.8 (76.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.6 (65.5) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.5 (67.1) |
19.3 (66.7) |
20.2 (68.4) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
21.4 (70.5) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.1 (71.8) |
21.2 (70.2) |
20.0 (68.0) |
18.6 (65.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 66.0 (2.60) |
50.7 (2.00) |
45.2 (1.78) |
64.0 (2.52) |
93.3 (3.67) |
61.8 (2.43) |
71.6 (2.82) |
98.8 (3.89) |
139.6 (5.50) |
113.0 (4.45) |
149.3 (5.88) |
93.8 (3.69) |
1,047.1 (41.22) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 11.9 | 9.3 | 9.0 | 11.8 | 10.3 | 8.4 | 12.2 | 13.9 | 13.5 | 13.8 | 14.8 | 13.3 | 142.0 |
| Average relative humidity (%)
|
74.7 | 74.1 | 73.6 | 75.0 | 75.9 | 75.1 | 74.8 | 75.4 | 76.3 | 76.8 | 77.4 | 76.6 | 75.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 257.2 | 235.2 | 271.6 | 265.4 | 251.0 | 245.1 | 257.2 | 288.1 | 232.4 | 244.6 | 235.0 | 246.7 | 3,009.4 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 73.5 | 72.7 | 72.2 | 70.6 | 62.4 | 62.0 | 63.2 | 67.7 | 62.8 | 67.0 | 68.3 | 71.4 | 67.8 |
| Source: Meteorological Department Curaçao[6] | |||||||||||||
See also
- List of Designated Monuments in Philipsburg
References
- ^ "Statistical Yearbook 2017" (PDF). Department of Statistics Sint Maarten. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- ^ "Accenting St. Maarten, Dutch Caribbean". geographia.com.
- ^ "School Directory". Sint Maarten Government. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ "Contact Us". Philipsburg Jubilee Library. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ "Philipsburg, Sint Maarten Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase.
- ^ "Summary of Climatological Data, Period 1971-2000" (PDF). Meteorological Department Curaçao. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
External links
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
