The Princess Alice Bank ( pt, Banco Princesa Alice) is a submerged seamount located southwest of the island of

Pico Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribeir ...

and southwest of the island of Faial in the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

archipelago of the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. The western area of the bank has a minimum depth of , with clear waters allowing observation of the ocean floor from the surface. With an abundance of biodiversity, the bank is a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

area, in addition to being an important

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

spot of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

History

The bank was named after the oceanographic campaign of

Prince Albert I of Monaco Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, Albert ...

, whose research vessel ''Princess Alice'' was involved in its discovery on 9 July 1896. On that day, at 6:00 a.m., at the beginning of a deep water exploration, rocky ledges were discovered deep. After scouring the area, the group discovered an extensive "platform", with a perimeter of about , and two extensions of in length. The platform was below the surface, although the peak is only from the surface. The

bathymetric Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (''seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water d ...

survey was entrusted to captain Charlwood Henry Carr^d (1848-1918), who was also the prince's field assistant and navigator of the ''Princesse Alice''. Carr was responsible for the original depth measurements at Princess Alice Bank. On 13 July 1896, from Faial, Prince Albert telegrammed King Carlos I of Portugal announcing the discovery and informing him of the usefulness of the bank for fishing. Returning to

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, on 21 August, the prince circulated a press statement reporting the discovery and stressing its importance to Azorean fisheries. In gratitude for the discovery, King Carlos awarded the prince with the "grand collar" of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" (St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgri ...

, having already granted Captain Carr the honorific degree of master of the

Order of St. Benedict , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

in 1894. Increasingly Princess Alice Bank has become one of the main areas for fishing exploration within the Central Group of the Azorean islands.

Geography

An area of around the bank, measured from the coasts of the closest islands, was established by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

as a reserve for Azorean fishermen. Princess Alice Bank is one of the main points of friction, or disagreement, in the current dispute between the Regional Government of the Azores and the European Union regarding the reform of the common fisheries policy.

External links

*
Dive at Princess Alice Bank
*

*

{{coord, 37, 55, N, 31, 30, W, region:PT_type:isle_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Geology of the Azores Fishing areas of the Atlantic Ocean Seamounts of the Atlantic Ocean Undersea banks of the Atlantic Ocean