subject: About The Bahamas [print this page] The Bahamas are a group of islands in the West Indies, lying southeast of Florida, and reaching almost to Haiti. There are about seven hundred islands in the group. Most of them are small and uninhabited. About 80,000 people live in the Bahamas, and most of them are Negroes. The principal islands are New Providence, upon which is the capital, Nassau; Andros; Grand Bahama Crooked Island; the Biminis; Eleuthera; San Salvador; and Great and Little Abaco. These islands were the first land sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1492, and it was on San Salvador that he first came ashore.
The climate of the Bahamas is balmy and pleasant all year round, and the islands are visited by thousands of tourists and vacationers, who come by steamship and airplane. The islands have been a British colony for several hundred years, and the governor is appointed by the king or queen of England. The Bahamans grow sisal, a kind of hemp from which ropes are made. Other products are salt, pearls, bananas, oranges and sponges. The people fish, and also catch large sea turtles, which are used for food. In World War II the United States leased land in the Bahamas from the British, and established naval bases and airfields there.Grand Bahama Island is The Bahamas second major visitor destination.The Atlantic side of Long Island in The Bahamas is a dramatic rocky shoreline.Bimini consists of a group of tiny islands in The Bahamas " North and South Bimini, Gun Cay, Cat Cay and some other islets " about 50 miles east of Miami.Mount Alvernia, at 206 ft above sea level, offers 360-degree views.
