. The earth and its inhabitants ... Geography. CHAPTER XIL. THE BAHAMAS. HE island-studded submarine plateau whicli has preserved its Indian name of Bahama is also known by the designation of Lucayas ; this term, which might be supposed to be derived from the Spanish word, cayos, " reefs," is also of Indian origin. Abaco, one of two large southern islands, bears the name of Yucaya, or Lucaya, a word which has been extended to the whole archipelago. The Bahamas stretch north-west and south-east between the Florida and San Domingo waters a total distance of 780 miles. The English, poli
. The earth and its inhabitants ... Geography. CHAPTER XIL. THE BAHAMAS. HE island-studded submarine plateau whicli has preserved its Indian name of Bahama is also known by the designation of Lucayas ; this term, which might be supposed to be derived from the Spanish word, cayos, " reefs," is also of Indian origin. Abaco, one of two large southern islands, bears the name of Yucaya, or Lucaya, a word which has been extended to the whole archipelago. The Bahamas stretch north-west and south-east between the Florida and San Domingo waters a total distance of 780 miles. The English, political masters of the archipelago, comprise under this designation the northern and central groups alone, excluding the Caicos and Turks Islands, which stand on the southern part of the coral plateau. But this arbitrary division can in no way be justified, for the Bahamas, with the Caicos and Turk's ' groups, constitute a perfectly distinct geographical region, all the members of which have the same general asjDect and the same geological origin. The actual laud surface is somewhat larger than Jamaica ; but it is quite impossible to determine the number of islands, which change with the storms, and almost with every tide. During spring tides some of the islets become decomposed into several fragments with intervening channels, while others disappear altogether below the surface ; at low water the process is reversed, and whole clusters again become united in continuous land. According to Bacot,* the Bahamas, excluding the Caicos and Turks groups, comprise 690 islands and islets, and 2,387 rocks or separate reefs, with a total area of 5,600 square miles. With the Caicos and Turl<s the actual number can scarcely be less than 3,200, of which only 31 were inhabi- ted in 1890, with a total population of 54,000. Historic Survey. The Bahamas were the first islands of the New World discovered by Columbus, who landed at Guanahani, re-named by him San Salvador. But he did not determine
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