Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History & Geography
Geography:
Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands both in terms of population and
area, but when compared to other jurisdictions it is pretty small. As a general rule the di-
mensions of the Island are 9 miles west to east and 5 miles north to south, producing a land
area of approximately 45 square miles. In addition there are a number of offshore islets,
which when included have an impact on the area but do not increase the size of the popula-
tion.
The Channel Islands are situated in the Gulf of St Malo, with Jersey being the most south-
erly. It is about 14 miles from the east coast of the Island to Normandy and about 35 miles
to Brittany from the south coast. The closest of the other Channel Islands is Sark, which is
approximately 12 miles to the north. It is nearly 100 miles to the south coast of England.
The closeness of Jersey to France, when compared to England helps to explain much about
the culture and history of the Island.
Jersey is divided into 12 parishes. The largest is St Ouen in the northwest, which is about
3.5 times larger than St Clement, the smallest parish in the southeast. As regards population,
St Helier, the capital has by far the largest population, whilst St Mary has the smallest pop-
ulation. This is also reflected in the population densities with St Helier at 3,200 inhabitants
per square kilometre, whilst St Mary is down at 270 per square kilometre.
