The Elbow Cays ( es, Los Roques)''Derrotero de las islas Antillas, de las costas Tierra-Firme, y las del Seno Mejicano'', Dirección de Hidrografía, España, Madrid, Imprenta Nacional, 1837. p. 266
/ref> are uninhabited

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 in the

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 se ...

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 ...

. It is the most Western point in the Bahamas. They are part of a reef shelf located at the northwestern end of the bank about 80 km (50 mi) off the

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 ...

n coast and 130 km (80 mi) southeast of

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. These cays are an excellent

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

spot. The Elbow Cays are the westernmost group on the reef, running southwest to northeast along 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 t ...

. The southernmost cays of this group consist of unnamed islets and rocks. Northeast of these are South Elbow Cay (the westernmost named cay of Cay Sal Bank) and North Elbow Cay, the latter sometimes known just as Elbow Cay ( es, Cayo Codo).NGA Navigational Chart #27087, ''Cay Sal Bank''. 3rd Edition, corrected through Mar-01. North Elbow Cay, which is the largest and highest of the cays, is marked by a disused conical stone

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

, which is high. The site is open for visitors, but the ruined tower is accessible only by boat and reaching it is extremely hazardous.

Geography

The compact cluster of islets, rocks and reefs formed by Elbow Cays, Crenula Cay, Double Headed Shot Cays, Water Cays and Marion Rock, among other unnamed features, was named by the Spanish as ''Los Roques''. These northwestern cays gave their name to the whole bank, which is known as ''Placer de los Roques'', in the Spanish language.''Derrotero de las islas Antillas, de las costas Tierra-Firme, y las del Seno Mejicano'', Dirección de Hidrografía, España, Madrid, Imprenta Nacional, 1837. p. 265
/ref>

Adjacent islands and rocks

*Crenula Cay *Double Headed Shot Cays, , a group of elongated cays that extend northeastward from the Elbow Cays, incorporating the Water Cays and all islets and reefs up to the Deadman Cays in the east.NOAA Navigational Chart #11013, ''Atlantic Coast: Straits of Florida and Approaches''. 48th Edition, corrected though Feb-12. Available as a NOAA Raster Navigational Chart at th

They are in a position on the northwest side of Cay Sal Bank where the Florida Current, in its course east and north through the Straits of Florida, usually sets close offshore at full strength. *Water Cays ( es, Cayo del Agua) (West Water Cay and East Water Cay), . Located towards the northeastern end these cays were mentioned by

Alexander Von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

: *Marion Rock, , a submerged rock Located off the northern coast of the 'Los Roques' reef.

History

Spanish navigators visited the island, plotting it for the first time on a map in 1511 as ''Los Roques''. The island and its atoll were subsequently claimed for the

Spanish crown , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

by Juan Ponce de León. The island was under the Spanish rule for about two centuries until 1718 when the Bahamas became a

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. A tall stone lighthouse was built by the British on the island of North Elbow Cay in 1839 along with some small buildings.Cay Sal Bank Lighthouse: A Stately Ruin
/ref> It marked the southern entrance 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 ...

from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

and was active until the 1940s. The abandoned lighthouse was briefly reactivated during the 1970s, when Bahamas police set up a post on nearby

Cay Sal Cay Sal ( es, Cayo de Sal) is a small island in the Cay Sal Bank between Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas. It is no longer inhabited. The Bahamas have an agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard to regularly fly over Cay Sal and other islands in the ban ...

Island to watch for drug smugglers. Many Cubans attempting to cross the Straits of Florida on makeshift boats and rafts reached this cay and wrote their names in the ruins of the lighthouse.

Cartography

In ancient maps and nautical charts the size of these cays was often exaggerated.

References

External links