Grand Cayman is the largest of the three

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of

Little Cayman Little Cayman is one of three Islands that make up the Cayman Islands. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, approximately 60 miles (96 km) northeast of East End, Grand Cayman and five miles (8 km) west of West End, Cayman Brac. Little ...

and 90 miles (145 km) southwest of

Cayman Brac Cayman Brac is an island that is part of the Cayman Islands. It lies in the Caribbean Sea about north-east of Grand Cayman and east of Little Cayman. It is about long, with an average width of . Its terrain is the most prominent of the th ...

Geography

Grand Cayman encompasses 76% of the territory's entire land mass. The island is approximately long with its widest point being wide. The elevation ranges from sea level at the beaches to above sea level on the North Side's

Mastic Trail Mastic Reserve lies at the eastern end of the North Side of Grand Cayman, one of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea. It, with the associated Mastic Trail, is managed by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands ...

. Unlike many other Caribbean islands, Grand Cayman is for the most part, flat. This allows for more space to build as the island’s population grows.

Island districts

Grand Cayman Island includes five of the six districts of the Cayman Islands: Bodden Town,

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, George Town, North Side and West Bay. *Bodden Town – Founded in the 1700s, Bodden Town district comprises the central part of Grand Cayman Island, between the George Town and North Side districts. The village of Bodden Town was the original capital of the Cayman Islands. *East End – The East End district is located at the east side of Grand Cayman Island and consists mostly of the Village of East End, numerous natural attractions, restaurants, and accommodations. *George Town – The capital of the Cayman Islands and world-famous centre for

offshore banking An offshore bank is a bank regulated under international banking license (often called offshore license), which usually prohibits the bank from establishing any business activities in the jurisdiction of establishment. Due to less regulation and ...

and investments, *North Side – Includes Kaibo and Rum Point. Sand Point Cove in Rum Point is home to a Bioluminescent Bay or Bio Bay. *West Bay – Has numerous tourist attractions including the

Cayman Turtle Farm The Cayman Turtle Centre is a conservation facility and tourist attraction located in the district of West Bay in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. First established in 1968 as "Mariculture Ltd" and later called "Cayman Turtle Farm" by a group of Am ...

and the Cayman Motor Museum. Towns in the West Bay district include Seven Mile Beach,

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

. The remaining district is Sister Islands, which consists of the islands of

and

Flora and fauna

Flora

Of the flora, a good representation of the variety of plant life on Grand Cayman can be found at the

Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

located in the North Side District. Wild banana orchids, ghost orchids,

thatch palm Thatch palm is a common name for several different species of palm trees that are used for thatching, and may refer to: *''Coccothrinax'', many species native to the Caribbean *''Howea'', two species native to Lord Howe Island, Australia *''Thrin ...

trees, red birch trees,

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

trees and various fruit trees such as

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

guinep ''Melicoccus bijugatus'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the soapberry family Sapindaceae, native or naturalized across the New World tropics including South and Central America, and parts of the Caribbean. Its stone-bearing fruits are edible. It is ...

naseberry ''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, naseberry, nispero or chicle, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the ...

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...

, and

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs ...

. Yellow mastics ('' Sideroxylon foetidissimum'') and black mastics ('' Terminalia eriostachya'') are also seen in the park, as well as on the -long

. Elsewhere outside the park, all of these species can be seen around Grand Cayman, including

coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

, ''

Casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

'' pine,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

, and poinciana trees.

Fauna

Fauna seen in various locations around the island include

blue iguana The blue iguana (''Cyclura lewisi''), also known as the Grand Cayman ground iguana, Grand Cayman blue iguana or Cayman Island rock iguana, is an endangered species of lizard which is endemic to the island of Grand Cayman. It was previously cons ...

s (''Cyclura lewisi''), Grand Cayman amazon parrots ('' Amazona leucocephala caymanensis''), Central American agouti (''Dasyprocta punctata''), and ''

Gecarcinus ruricola ''Gecarcinus ruricola'' is a species of terrestrial crab. It is the most terrestrial of the Caribbean land crabs, and is found from western Cuba across the Antilles as far east as Barbados. Common names for ''G. ruricola'' include the purple lan ...

'', a species of land crab. The Cayman Islands

Turtle Farm Turtle farming is the practice of raising turtles and tortoises of various species commercially. Raised animals are sold for use as gourmet food, traditional medicine ingredients, or as pets. Some farms also sell young animals to other farms, e ...

located in the West Bay district raises green sea turtles for their meat and to release into the wild. Through breeding, the farm produces upwards of 1800 turtles a year. Between 1980 and 2006, the farm released approximately 30,600 turtles to the wild; because of a mark placed on each animal, the released turtles have been seen throughout the Caribbean. There are four endemic snake species on Grand Cayman and two

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

. They are all relatively harmless and the largest is the rarely seen invasive corn snake, which may grow to about 5 feet (1.5 m). The smallest averages 2–4 inches (5–10 cm) and is the invasive

brahminy blind snake ''Indotyphlops braminus'', commonly known as the brahminy blind snake and other names, is a non-venomous blind snake species found mostly in Africa and Asia, but has been introduced in many other parts of the world. They are completely fossoria ...

which is also rarely seen. The most common is the endemic Cayman racer snake. (''Cubophis cantherigerus'') It can grow to approximately 5 feet (1.5 m), but 3-foot (91-cm) specimens are much more common. These snakes tend to race away if encountered and in rare cases will rear up in a threatening manner if cornered. The Cayman racer snake carries a mild venom which it uses to immobilise prey, but in large enough doses it can cause significant swelling and bruising if it latches on for an extended period. A simple bite and release does not usually cause any reaction in humans. The other three endemic snake species are the Cayman Islands dwarf boa,

Cayman Brac blind snake The Cayman Brac blind snake (''Cubatyphlops epactius'') is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. McDiarmid, Roy W.; Campbell, Jonathan A.; Touré, T'Shaka A. (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Vo ...

and Cayman water snake. File:Hibiscus palm.jpg, Hibiscus and palm tree on Grand Cayman Island File:Central American Agouti Grand Cayman.jpg, Central American agouti at

File:Green sea turtle cayman turtle farm.jpg, Green sea turtle in lagoon at Cayman Turtle Farm File:East End Blow Hole.jpg, East End blow hole

Demographics

Of the three islands, Grand Cayman contains approximately 97% of the territory's entire population.

Economy

Offshore banking

There are just under 600 banks and trust companies in the Grand Cayman, including 43 of the 50 largest banks in the world. Because of this large financial presence on the island, banking, investments, and insurance drive the economy in Grand Cayman.

Tourism

Grand Cayman Island has a number of natural attractions: the blow holes in the East End district, the Mastic Trail that runs north to south through the center of the island,

in the West Bay, and the

. Watersports such as

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 ...

and

snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a ...

are popular activities on Grand Cayman as the island is known for its coral reefs and underwater sea walls along with a number of shipwrecks. Because of its clubs, resorts, and hotels, Seven Mile Beach has the largest concentration of visitors and tourists on the island.

Infrastructure

Owen Roberts International Airport Owen Roberts International Airport is an airport serving Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. It is the main international airport for the Cayman Islands as well as the main base for Cayman Airways. The airport is named after British Royal Air Fo ...

serves Grand Cayman with domestic and international flights.

Cayman Airways Cayman Airways is the flag carrier airline of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. With its head office in Grand Cayman, it operates mainly as an international and domestic scheduled passenger carrier, with cargo services avai ...

has its headquarters on Grand Cayman. Electrical service for Grand Cayman is provided by Caribbean Utilities Company Ltd., with its corporate headquarters located on North Sound Road. Electricity on Grand Cayman runs on a 120/240 volt electricity system with electrical outlets designed to accommodate a three-pin American plug. Grand Cayman residents have a choice of telecommunications services from C3,

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, a ...

, FLOW (previously

LIME Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

), and Logic.

Olive Hilda Miller Olive Wright Miller (9 November 1921 – 19 May 2020) was a British missionary, journalist and philanthropist. Known as "Cayman's own Mother Teresa", she was the Cayman Islands' first paid journalist and established its first retirement home. ...

was the first manager of The Pines, the first

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple i ...

to be built in the Cayman Islands. She worked there from 1983 until 1991.

Education

The

Cayman Islands Education Department The Ministry of Education, Employment and Gender Affairs is a ministry of the Cayman Islands. It is headquartered on the fifth floor of the Government Administration Building in George Town, Grand Cayman Grand Cayman is the largest of the thre ...

operates government schools.

Transition schools

* Cayman Islands Further Education Centre

Secondary schools operated by government

* John Gray High School *

Clifton Hunter High School Clifton Hunter High School (CHHS) is a senior high school in Frank Sound, North Side, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. ...

Primary schools operated by government

* Theoline L. McCoy Primary School *Sir John A. Cumber Primary School *Edna M. Moyle Primary School *George Town Primary School *East End Primary School *Prospect Primary School *Red Bay Primary School *Savannah Primary School

Private schools

*Cayman Academy *

Cayman International School Cayman International School (CIS) is a private school in Camana Bay, George Town, Grand Cayman Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Ca ...

* Cayman Prep and High School *First Baptist Christian School (ages 3 months – 11 years, grades preschool to 6) *Grace Christian Academy *Montessori School of Grand Cayman * St. Ignatius Catholic School *Triple C School *Truth For Youth School *

Wesleyan Christian Academy Wesleyan Christian Academy is a private Christian school located in High Point, North Carolina, across from the former Oak Hollow Mall complex. Wesleyan Christian Academy is accredited by AdvancED and the Association of Christian Schools Inte ...

*Hope Academy

Private universities

* St. Matthews University of Medicine/Veterinary Medicine *

International College of the Cayman Islands The International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI) is an non-profit, private, four-year independent institution of higher education which opened in the fall of 1970. It is the oldest college in the Cayman Islands and is located in Newlands ...

(ICCI) *The Cayman Islands Law Schoolhttp://www.lawschool.gov.ky

Public universities

University College of the Cayman Islands The University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI) is a tertiary educational institution in the Cayman Islands. History The original Community College was established as a part-time institution in 1975, and was the first government-sponsore ...

(UCCI)

Gallery

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (thumbnail).jpg, Aerial view of the island Governor Residence Grand Cayman Island.jpg, The Governor's Residence Stingray City, Grand Cayman.jpg,

Stingray City Stingray City is a series of shallow sandbars found in the North Sound of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. It is a tourist attraction, where southern stingrays are found in abundance and visitors can pet and interact with the animals. There are two ...

Sailboats, Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman.jpg, Sailboats on Seven Mile Beach

References

External links

Cayman Islands Department of Tourism

Cayman Travel Guide

Cayman Islands Government
* * * {{Authority control Islands of the Cayman Islands