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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 and Great Abaco, which are the largest of the platforms, and the Cay Sal Bank north of Cuba. The islands of these banks are politically part of the Bahamas. Other banks are the three banks of the Turks and Caicos Islands, namely the Caicos Bank of the
The slopes around them however, such as the border of the Tongue of the Ocean in the Great Bahama Bank, are very steep. The Banks were dry land during past ice ages, when sea level was as much as 120 meters (390 feet) lower than at present; the area of the Bahamas today thus represents only a small fraction of their prehistoric extent. When they were exposed to the
European Space Agency: ''Earth From Space: The Great Bahamas Bank'', on http://spaceref.com, December 20, 2014 11:00 AM
{{coord, 24.046464, N, 77.651367, W, source:dewiki_region:BS-FC_type:isle, format=dms, display=title Undersea banks of the Atlantic Ocean Landforms of the Bahamas Landforms of the Caribbean Cretaceous Caribbean Jurassic Caribbean Early Cretaceous North America Late Jurassic North America
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 and Great Abaco, which are the largest of the platforms, and the Cay Sal Bank north of Cuba. The islands of these banks are politically part of the Bahamas. Other banks are the three banks of the Turks and Caicos Islands, namely the Caicos Bank of the Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and nor ...
, the bank of the Turks Islands, and wholly submerged Mouchoir Bank
Mouchoir Bank, in Spanish also called ''Banco de Pañuelo Blanco'', is a submerged bank that is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands and falls within its exclusive economic zone.
The bank, located southeast of the Turks islands, is the geograp ...
. Farther southeast are the equally wholly submerged Silver Bank
Silver Bank ( es, Banco de la Plata) is a submerged bank in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Dominican Republic and southeast of the territory of Turks and Caicos Islands. It covers an area of . It is separated from Mouchoir Bank in the west by ...
and Navidad Bank
Navidad Bank ( es, Banco de la Navidad) is a submerged bank in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Dominican Republic and southeast of the Territory of Turks & Caicos. It is separated from Silver Bank by the wide Navidad Bank Passage.
Geography
Navid ...
north of the Dominican Republic.
Geologic history and structure
The limestone that comprises the Banks has been accumulating since at least the Cretaceous period, and perhaps as early as the Jurassic; today the total thickness under the Great Bahama Bank is over 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles). As the limestone was deposited in shallow water, the only way to explain this massive column is to estimate that the entire platform has subsided under its own weight at a rate of roughly 3.6 centimetres (2 inches) per 1,000 years. The waters of the Bahama Banks are very shallow; on the Great Bahama Bank they are generally no deeper than 25 meters (80 feet).Stephen K. Boss, "Geological Research on the Great Bahama Bank" (Accessed 3/9/06)The slopes around them however, such as the border of the Tongue of the Ocean in the Great Bahama Bank, are very steep. The Banks were dry land during past ice ages, when sea level was as much as 120 meters (390 feet) lower than at present; the area of the Bahamas today thus represents only a small fraction of their prehistoric extent. When they were exposed to the
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
, the limestone structure was subjected to chemical weathering that created the caves and sinkholes common to karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
terrain, resulting in structures like blue holes.
See also
* Oolitic Aragonite Sand - largest deposit of oolitic aragonite sand is found on the Bahamas Banks * * * *References
Further reading
* *External links
European Space Agency: ''Earth From Space: The Great Bahamas Bank'', on http://spaceref.com, December 20, 2014 11:00 AM
{{coord, 24.046464, N, 77.651367, W, source:dewiki_region:BS-FC_type:isle, format=dms, display=title Undersea banks of the Atlantic Ocean Landforms of the Bahamas Landforms of the Caribbean Cretaceous Caribbean Jurassic Caribbean Early Cretaceous North America Late Jurassic North America