Bahamas » Maps and Geography

Starting 60 miles off the coast of South Florida and extending as far south as Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, The Bahamas is a coral archipelago of 700 islands, 29 of which are populated, and over 2,000 rocks and cays. The Bahamas Islands extend across approximately 100,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean between the southeastern tip of Florida and the northern tip of Haiti.

The two main areas comprising the major population are the capital, Nassau which is to be found on New Providence Island and Freeport, situated on Grand Bahama Island. The further populated Islands and cays are called Family Islands. Some of these include Abaco, Andros, Acklins, Crooked, Berry Island, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Inaguas, Mayaguana, and San Salvador.

Hundreds of centuries ago, The Bahamas Islands in the result of coral reefs which became dry land when the sea level plunged down, emerged on the map. Having miles of white and pink sandy beaches the islands are habitually flat.

There are no rivers in the Bahamas because the Islands of the Bahamas are made entirely of calcium carbonate, which is mainly precipitated by the organisms of coral reefs; contributing to the Bahamas having the clearest waters in the world with visibility of over 200 feet (61 meters).