Andros (Bahamas)
Andros is one of 5,957 km ², the largest island of the Bahamas. It is 167 km long and at its widest point 64 km wide. Andros has the third largest barrier reef in the world, it is over 225 km long.
On closer inspection, it is at Andros to an archipelago of numerous closely spaced islands. The most extensive are North Andros ( 3439 km ², the sixth largest island in the Caribbean), South Andros ( 1447 km ²) and Mangrove Cay.
History
The Spanish arrived in 1550 in search of slaves on Andros and have it wiped out the native population of Lucayner, a tribe of Arawak Indians by violence and disease. The island was given by the Spanish in the name of Espiritu Santo (Island of the Holy Spirit ), but was designated on a map of 1782 as San Andreas Island. The current name will go back to Sir Edmund Andros, who was in 1672 commander of the royal forces in Barbados and in the following Governor of New York, New England, Virginia, Maryland and Guernsey was.
It is also possible that the island is named after the inhabitants of St Andro Iceland (see: San Andres (Colombia ) ) could have gotten on the Mosquito Coast, since 1400 have been settled by them in 1787 on Andros.
During the 1700s, the island was occupied by pirates. In the late 18th century Loyalists settled in Andros and brought slaves with there.
Population
The population of Andros is around 7000 inhabitants. The island has the lowest population density of all the Bahamas Islands. Most residents live on the east coast of the island in three major cities: Nicholls Town, Congo Town, and Andros Town.
Nature
The island is of great natural beauty. Before the second largest island 225 km long reef in the northern hemisphere and the third largest in the world is. The reef is on average four meters below the water surface. On the island there are more than 104 km ² rainforest and swamp land that is populated by more than 50 species of orchids. Andros is actually composed of many islands, which are connected by this marshland. Two hundred bird species on the island. Andros is also home to the Chickcharnies that are held by some to be an extinct species of wingless owl, likely, these are but only by a mythical animal.
Unlike on most Bahamian islands the interior of the island is largely escaped Tourismusbauten and has retained much of its scenic beauty.
The island has large amounts of fresh water, of which nearly 20 million liters are shipped daily to Nassau. On Andros, there are thousands of kilometers of rivers that are of underground caves in which collects the rain water inland, fed.
Andros is haunted every two and a half years by a hurricane on average.
Tourism
The island attracts thousands of visitors. Anglers come from all over the world to fish the waters of Andros. The island upstream Flats ( shallow water zones, some only knee deep) are among fly fishermen as the first choice for fishing for bonefish (Albula vulpis ). Divers visit Andros to take dives on the reef with all its coral formations and marine life. There are many resorts and hotels on the island.
Economy
Androsia, the local fashion of the inhabitants of the Bahamas, which is usually held in very bright and strong colors, is made on Andros. The island is also the seat of the Bahama Lumber Company, which supplies the entire Bahamas with lumber.