Sandy Bay is one of eight

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of the island of

Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

, part of the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory located in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and the archipelago of Tri ...

in the South

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Located on the island's southeastern coast, it is sparsely populated and is a popular recreation site.

Description

Terrain in the district is quite varied, with steep ridges and a limited amount of flat ground, as befits the island's volcanic origin. The lower reaches of the bay are generally arid, but the upper area is lushly vegetated. Most of the island's

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

and

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

s are grown there. The district has the largest beaches on the island and is a popular recreation spot. Due to its southeastern location, the beaches are exposed to the prevailing south-easterly winds and subject to erosion from heavy seas. West of the bay, one of the island's Post Box Walks leads to a set of sea stacks and tidal pools called Lot's Wife's Ponds, which are popular for swimming and fishing.

Demographics

Its population has declined from 254 in 1998 to 205 in 2008 and 193 in 2016. Only Blue Hill District has fewer residents.

History

The first fortifications defending Sandy Bay were built after 1708, when extensive limestone deposits were found nearby and a

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

was built to make mortar. The gun battery was built too close to the sea, as it was washed away during a storm in 1734. Eight years later, the battery had been replaced, but it was deemed insufficient to defend the beaches. Shortly afterwards it was replaced by a curtain wall (known as Sandy Bay Line) that spanned the full width of the beach. The eastern side of the line has been partially restored, but the western side has been almost entirely washed away. The single-gun Beach Hill Battery was built in the late 1700s atop the promontory that divided the beaches.Denholm, p. 72

Gallery

File:Baptist chapel in Sandy Bay.jpg, Baptist Chapel File:Fortified Line in Sandy Bay.jpg, Fortifications near the bay File:Sandy Bay viewed from the west.jpg, the bay viewed from the west File:The chimney basalt sea stack at Lot's Wife's Ponds.jpg, basalt sea stack near Lot's Wife's Ponds, known as "the Chimney" File:View of the Sandy Bay valley from the beach.jpg, the valley seen from the beach File:Sandy Bay district seen from High Peak.jpg, the valley seen from High Peak File:View of Sandy Bay from Diana's Peak.jpg, district of Sandy Bay File:Sandy Bay from highlands to the north.jpg, viewed from High Peak

Notes

Bibliography

* {{coord, 15.983, S, 5.718, W, type:city_region:SH, display=title Districts of Saint Helena Geography of Saint Helena Populated places in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha