Geography of the Bahamas :: Essays Papers

Topography of the Bahamas The Bahamas are situated in the Atlantic Ocean 49.7 miles (80 km) southeast of Florida and 49.7 miles (80 km) upper east of Cuba. Some neighboring islands to the Bahamas are Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, is situated on the island of New Providence. The Bahamas include 700 islands and 2,000 cays, yet 30 to 40 of them are occupied (thebahamas.com). The Bahamas are a huge dispersed gathering of islands called an archipelago. The land mass covers a region of around 4,566 sq. miles (11,825 sq. km) (Thompson 27), generally the size of New Jersey and Connecticut consolidated. The islands of the Bahamas spread around 259,000 square miles (670,810 sq. km) of sea (countrystudies.us). The complete coastline is 2,200 miles (3,542 km), which is about 25% of all the land that makes up the Bahamas (cia.gov). The coastlines are bordered with mangroves, tidal ponds and coral reefs. The establishment of the Bahamas is a blend of fossil coral and sand. There is low scour spread across a considerable lot of the islands. The northern Bahamas are viewed as a savannah as it comprises of level fields on dry cruel grounds. The most elevated point situated in the Bahamas is Mt. Alvernia on Cat Island arriving at a tallness of 320 feet (97.54 m) (cia.gov). The main stream and new water lake in the whole archipelago is situated on Andros Island. The atmosphere of the Bahamas is a tropical marine framework. There are just two seasons in the Bahamas. Summer incorporates the long periods of May through November, while the winter months comprise of December through April. The two seasons are constrained by the warm Gulf Stream and the exchange winds. Moderate temperatures extend from a low of 60Â °F and a high of 90Â °F (thebahamas.com). In the late spring, the ocean temperature is steady around 80Â °F and for the most part 74Â °F by mid winter (thebahamas.com). The Bahamas get 132 cm (25 inches) of precipitation yearly which for the most part happens from the incidental summer showers (Thompson 28). As a general rule these rainfalls are trailed by various long periods of daylight and clear skies. Winds will in general blow easterly and seldom arrive at speeds more prominent than 13 mph making those warm pleasant ocean breezes.