The Old Bahama Channel ( es, Canal Viejo de Bahama) is a
strait
A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
of the
Caribbean region
The Caribbean region of Colombia or Caribbean coast region is in the north of Colombia and is mainly composed of 8 departments located contiguous to the Caribbean.[Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...]
and the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
.
Geography
The strait/channel is located off the Atlantic coast of north-central and northeastern mainland and the
Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago
Sabana-Camagüey ( es, Archipiélago de Sabana-Camagüey ) is an archipelago that lies on Cuba's north-central Atlantic coast. It is located off the northern coast of the provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila and ...
of Cuba, and south of the
Great Bahama Bank
The Bahama Banks are the submerged carbonate platforms that make up much of the Bahama Archipelago. The term is usually applied in referring to either the Great Bahama Bank around Andros Island, or the Little Bahama Bank of Grand Bahama Island ...
of the Bahamas. It is approximately long and 13.6 miles (22 km) wide at its narrowest place. It divides the northernmost bank of the
Caribbean islands
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 re ...
into two nearly equal parts. To the north and northeast is the Great Bahama Bank and the
Bahama Islands
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the arch ...
; and to the south the bank on which the island of Cuba rests.
The Old Bahama Channel is connected at its north-western extremity end to the
Florida Straits
The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait ( es, Estrecho de Florida) is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between th ...
by two arms, enclosing
Cay Sal Bank
Cay Sal Bank ( es, Placer de los Roques) is the third largest (after Great Bahama Bank and Little Bahama Bank) and the westernmost of the Bahama Banks. It is located between 23º27'N - 24º10'N and 079º25'W – 080º35'W. In a geographical sens ...
, of which the northern is called
Santaren Channel and the southern
Nicholas Channel
Nicholas Channel (also '' Saint Nicholas Channel''; es, Canal de Nicolas or Canal de San Nicolas) is a strait off the northeastern coast of Cuba. It lies east of Havana. It separates Cuba from the most southwestern of the islands of the Bahama ...
. It is considered as terminating on the east between
Cape Maysi in Cuba, and
Inagua island in the Bahamas. However, it can also be considered to include the deep sea which separates the minor banks north of
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
from this island, so that it extends to the
Mona Passage
The Mona Passage ( es, Canal de la Mona) is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama ...
, or the strait between the islands of
Hispaniola
Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...
and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
.
The narrowest portion of the Old Bahama Channel is between
22° and
23° North latitude, where its width rarely exceeds .
History
In the 1500s,
Alonso Valiente was one of the discoverers of the Old Bahama Channel.
The
Spanish colonial trade routes in the
Spanish West Indies
The Spanish West Indies or the Spanish Antilles (also known as "Las Antillas Occidentales" or simply "Las Antillas Españolas" in Spanish language, Spanish) were Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. In terms of governance of the Spanish Empire, The ...
originally favored the Old Bahama Channel, then shifted to the
Straits of Florida
The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait ( es, Estrecho de Florida) is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between th ...
—New Bahama Channel, as it was a safer alternative.
In the Old Bahama Channel, ship captains had to pick their way through the low-lying
cay
A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...
s and
shoal
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
s of the southern
Bahama Banks
The Bahama Banks are the submerged carbonate platforms that make up much of the Bahama Archipelago. The term is usually applied in referring to either the Great Bahama Bank around Andros Island, or the Little Bahama Bank of Grand Bahama Island ...
. A
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
vessel, the 44-gun , was wrecked in the Channel in 1762.
References
{{Reflist
Straits of the Caribbean
International straits
Bodies of water of Cuba
Bodies of water of the Bahamas
Bahamas–Cuba border
Geography of Camagüey Province
Geography of Ciego de Ávila Province
Geography of Cienfuegos Province
Geography of Guantánamo Province
Geography of Holguín Province
Geography of Sancti Spíritus Province
Geography of Villa Clara Province