Roncador Bank is a mostly-submerged
atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gro ...
with several sandy
cays. It lies in the west
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexic ...
off the coast of
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
.
Geography
It is about 15 by 6 kilometers in size, with an area of 65 km
2 composed mostly of
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...
. In the northern area lies
Roncador Cay.
History
Originally claimed by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
under the
Guano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act (, enacted August 18, 1856, codified at §§ 1411-1419) is a United States federal law passed by the U.S. Congress that enables citizens of the United States to take possession, in the name of the United States, of unclai ...
of 1856, the atoll was ceded by the United States to
Colombia on September 17, 1981, as the result of a treaty signed in 1972.
There are several dilapidated houses on it built by American troops during the
Cuban Missile Crisis.
In 1894, the
USS ''Kearsarge'' was shipwrecked on Roncador Bank.
Lighthouse
An old disused lighthouse is at its northern end. A new lighthouse has been operating since 1977.
See also
*
List of Guano Island claims
The United States claimed a number of islands as insular areas under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Only the eight administered as the US Minor Islands and the ones part of Hawaii and American Samoa remain under the jurisdiction of the United Stat ...
References
External links
Lighthouse DetailsSerrana Bank and Roncador BankPhotos
Landforms of Colombia
Atolls of Colombia
Caribbean islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act
Former regions and territories of the United States
Islands of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina
Former disputed islands
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