Singapore is an island, just north of the equator, which is somewhat diamond-shaped, with the distance from the east to the west being greater than that from the north to the south. It takes less than an hour to go from the east to the west by car on the expressway running across Singapore, and about 30 minutes from the north to the south via the Central Expressway.
It has a total land area of about 700 square kilometers and is separated from the southern-most state of Malaysia, Johor, by a narrow strip of sea called the Straits of Johor. In the south, it is separated from Indonesia by the Singapore Strait. Much of the island is no more than 15 meters above sea level; during extreme high tide, heavy rain and strong currents, part of the coastal area could be flooded. Some of the hills which were there in the past have been flattened to provide soil for land reclamation.
Apart from the main island, Singapore has a few small islands mainly off the south and southern coast. One of them, Sentosa, has been developed for leisure and recreation and is frequented by locals and visitors.
Although Singapore is close to Indonesia, which is an earthquake prone country, it has not been hit by earthquakes because it is far enough from fault lines. However, parts of Singapore are occasionally hit by tremors when there is seimic activity in the region. These tremors can cause buildings (and people) to sway, but have not caused any injuries or property damage.
Log In