Long Island, Bahamas

Columbus Monument, Long Island, Bahamas
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ColumbusMonumentLongIslandBahamas.JPG
Author: Wilson44691


Long Island is one of the major islands of the Bahamas. It measures 130 km long but is only 6 km at its widest, hence its name. The Tropic of Cancer runs through the northern quarter of Long Island, which covers 448 sq km. It is located about 265 km to the southeast of Nassau. The main town on Long Island is Clarence Town, which has a population of 350, against the total island population of 4,000 people.

Long Island is the location of Dean's Blue Hole, the deepest underwater sinkhole in the world. The hole is in the sea just off the coast to the west of Clarence Town.

Long Island was inhabited by the Lucayan Taíno tribe until the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. This island is believed to be the third stop on his voyage after discovering San Salvador Island and Rum Cay. He named it Fernandina.

Long Island, Bahamas
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LongIslandRoadBahamas.JPG
Author: Wilson44691


During the American Revolutionary War, Loyalist to the British fled mainland America to start a new life here. They established the earliest farms on Long Island, where they raised sheep and cattle. In the 1790s another influx of settlers arrived, this time from the Carolinas. They began cotton plantations here. When slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1834, many of the cotton plantations were abandoned due to lack of workforce.

Today the people of Long Island depend mostly on fishing, though farming is still an important occupation. Tourism is also becoming increasingly significant to the economy of this island. Long Island has been lauded as having some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, while Dean's Blue Hole is becoming popular with divers.

Clarence Town
Clarence Town, the main town on Long Island, is just a small town with limited number of shops, two restaurants, a gas station and a couple of churches, one Anglican the other Roman Catholic.

Getting to Long Island

The Deadman's Cay Airport (LGI) is the airport on Long Island. It receives regular flights from Nassau by Bahamasair, Pineapple Air and Southern Air Charter.

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