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Pedro Cays
Pedro Bank is a large bank of sand and coral, partially covered with seagrass, about 80 km south and southwest of Jamaica, rising steeply from a seabed of 800 metres depth. It slopes gently from the Pedro Cays to the west and north with depths from . The total area of the bank within the isobath measures . The area of a depth to is triangular, long east-west, and wide. are less than deep. With its islets, cays and rocks, a total land area of , it is the location of one of the two offshore island groups of Jamaica, the other one being the Morant Cays (Jamaica also has nearshore islands like the Port Royal Cays). The bank is centered at . Pedro Bank is a part of submarine Nicaragua Rise, which stretches from Cabo Gracias a Dios through Rosalind Bank to Jamaica. History Pedro Bank was originally named 'Viper Bank', es, Placer de la Víbora, by Spanish mariners because its shallow reefs, rocks and shoals are laid out in the shape of a gigantic serpent. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placer (geography)
Placer ( pt, parcel or ''pracel'') is a term used by Portuguese discoveries, Portuguese and list of conquistadors, Spanish navigators and cartographers to refer to a certain kind of submerged ocean bank, bank or reef. Commonly the bottom of such a reef is sandy, but there are some where the bottom is muddy or stoney. Although most reefs designated as placer are flat and shallow, exceptionally there are some that do not share those characteristics and are known as ''placer acantilado''. A placer usually provides an anchorage (maritime), anchorage for seagoing vessels. Etymology The word placer derives from the Spanish ''placer'', meaning shoal or alluvial/sand deposit, from ''plassa'' (place) from Medieval Latin ''placea'' (place) the origin word for "place" and "plaza" in English. The word in Spanish is thus derived from placea and refers directly to an alluvial or glacial deposit of sand or gravel. Spanish navigator and explorer Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa commented that ''place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seabird Colonies
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene. In general, seabirds live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. Most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen birds to millions. Many species are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even feed on each other. Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely. Seabirds and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islands Of Jamaica
Almost all of the Caribbean islands are in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest island is Cuba. Other sizable islands include Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Some of the smaller islands are referred to as a ''rock'' or ''reef.'' ''Islands are listed in alphabetical order by country of ownership and/or those with full independence and autonomy. Islands with coordinates can be seen on the map linked to the right.'' Antigua and Barbuda There are 54 islands in Antigua and Barbuda. There are three main islands, the two populated islands (Antigua and Barbuda) and Redonda. There are 51 off-shore islands. The islands of the country of Antigua and Barbuda include: * Antigua, , * Northeast Marine Management Area ** Prickly Pear Island ** Great Bird Island ** Galley Island Major ** Galley Island Minor ** Jenny Island ** Exchange Island ** Rabbit Island ** Lobster Island ** Long Island ** Maiden Island ** Rat Island ** Litt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Nations System-wide Earthwatch
United Nations System-wide Earthwatch is an initiative set up by the United Nations to bring together environmental observations by UN agencies within a consistent framework. Formation and mandate Earthwatch was established in 1972 to "monitor major global disturbance in the environment and to give early warning of problems requiring international action". The program is coordinated by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). The focus is on providing data to support decision-making in response to the UN General Assembly resolution on "Strengthening International Cooperation in the monitoring of Global Environmental Problems". The mandate was strengthened by the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro and its Agenda-21 chapter on Information for Decision Making. Organization The UNEP Division of Early Warning and Assessment provides the Earthwatch Secretariat, based in Nairobi. Since September 2002 the Secretariat has been supported by DEWA/ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east and northeast, Brazil to the southeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south and southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest. Colombia is divided into 32 departments and the Capital District of Bogotá, the country's largest city. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi), and has a population of 52 million. Colombia's cultural heritage—including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as a Spanish colony, fusing cultural elements brought by immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with those brought by enslaved Africans, as well as with those of the various Amerindian civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alice Shoal
Alice Shoal (Spanish: ''Banco Alicia'' or ''Bajo Alicia'') is a wholly submerged reef, located in the western Caribbean Sea, about southwest of Jamaica. The mainland of Colombia lies away to the southeast. Alice Shoal is situated 31 km northeast of East Cay of Serranilla Bank, and 48 km west of Bajo Nuevo Bank. The bank is about 16 km in diameter as defined by the 200 m isobath, which corresponds to an area of more than 200 km2. There are no islets, cays or above-water rocks. The bank has a minimum depth of , with coral bottom, at its eastern edge. Depths over the greater part of the bank are less than . The bottom is fine white sand. Rip current A rip current, often simply called a rip (or misleadingly a ''rip tide''), is a specific kind of water current that can occur near beaches with breaking waves. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water which moves directly away ...s mark the edges of the bank. The reef falls within the ''Joint Regime Area'' of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portland Point
Portland Point is the southernmost point in Jamaica.UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys 1:50,000 map of Jamaica sheet H, 1973. It is halfway along the island's south coast at the end of a hilly peninsula in Clarendon. A large bay, Portland Bight, lies to the east of it. See also *List of countries by southernmost point This is a list of countries by southernmost point on land. Where borders are contested, the southernmost point under the control of a nation is listed, excluding points within Antarctica and its outlying islands south of 60°S. Non-UN political en ... References {{Geographical extremities of Jamaica Headlands of Jamaica Extreme points of Jamaica Geography of Clarendon Parish, Jamaica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Points Of The compass
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each separated by 90 degrees, and secondarily divided by four ordinal (intercardinal) directions—northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest—each located halfway between two cardinal directions. Some disciplines such as meteorology and navigation further divide the compass with additional azimuths. Within European tradition, a fully defined compass has 32 'points' (and any finer subdivisions are described in fractions of points). Compass points are valuable in that they allow a user to refer to a specific azimuth in a colloquial fashion, without having to compute or remember degrees. Designations The names of the compass point directions follow these rules: 8-wind compass rose * The four cardinal directions are north (N), east (E) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes, such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea, have likely been more important for the last 540 million years. Limestone often contains fossils which provide scientists with information on ancient environments and on the evolution of life. About 20% to 25% of sedimentary rock is carbonate rock, and most of this is limestone. The remaining carbonate rock is mostly dolomite, a closely related rock, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, . ''Magnesian limestone'' is an obsolete and poorly-defined term used variously for dolomite, for limes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oolite
Oolite or oölite (''egg stone'') is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Ancient Greek word for egg (ᾠόν). Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 millimetres; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites. The term ''oolith'' can refer to oolite or individual ooids. Composition Ooids are most commonly composed of calcium carbonate ( calcite or aragonite), but can be composed of phosphate, clays, chert, dolomite or iron minerals, including hematite. Dolomitic and chert ooids are most likely the result of the replacement of the original texture in limestone. Oolitic hematite occurs at Red Mountain near Birmingham, Alabama, along with oolitic limestone. They are usually formed in warm, supersaturated, shallow, highly agitated marine water intertidal environments, though some are formed in inland lakes. The mechanism of formation starts with a small fragment of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy (a military service) and the transit police (a law enforcement agency), while in certain countries has similarities to both. History The predecessor of the United Kingdom's modern His Majesty's Coastguard was established in 1809 as the Waterguard, a department of the HM Customs and Excise authority, which was originally devoted to the prevention of smuggling. At the time, due to high UK taxation on liquors such as brandy, and on tobacco etc., smuggling of such cargoes from places such as France, Belgium, and Holland was an attractive proposition for many; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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