Inagua
| Inagua | ||
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| Waters | Atlantic Ocean | |
| archipelago | Bahamas | |
| Geographical location | 21 ° 5 ′ N , 73 ° 17 ′ W | |
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| Number of islands | 2 | |
| Main island | Great Inagua | |
| Total land area | 1625 km² | |
| Residents | 911 (2010) | |
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Inagua is an archipelago and the southernmost district of the Bahamas . The group includes the islands of Great Inagua and Little Inagua .
Great Inagua is the third largest island in the Bahamas with 1544 km² and is located around 90 km off the eastern tip of Cuba , which can be seen from the top of the lighthouse (height approx. 30 m). The highest point is the East Hill with 33 m. There are several lakes on the island, the most important of which is Lake Windsor , which is around 20 km long and takes up about 1/4 of the island's area. According to local statements, the population was around 1,100 in 2006, around 250 of whom worked at Morton Salz.
The main town of Matthew Town has the only port on the island. Matthew Town is named after George Matthew , a 19th century governor of the Bahamas.
Infrastructure
Matthew Town is the only inhabited place on the island. In addition to the city administration, there is a police station with a fire engine in the city. The city has various small shops for groceries, clothing, drugstores, office supplies and souvenirs, as well as a typical "Morton" shopping mall (Inagua General Store Ltd, founded 1954).
The city is powered by two diesel generators. The airport Great Inagua Airport ( IATA airport code : IGA, ICAO code : myig) is close to the city.
religion
Seven parishes are active in the city:
- St. Philip's Anglican Church, founded in 1855,
- Wesley Methodist Church reopened in 1953,
- Inagua Gospel Church,
- Deliverance Household of Faith,
- and other.
Industry
About 15 km northwest of the city is Morton Salt's main factory , Morton Bahamas Ltd. ., a company of K + S AG . At the moment, at least 1.3 million tons of sea salt are produced there annually , making it the second largest salt production in North America. Salt mining is Inagua's main industry. The Morton Bahamas Ltd. has its own power supply and also its own port with loading quay for the salt.
nature
On Great Inagua there is a large bird sanctuary with more than 60,000 flamingos and other exotic birds such as roseate spoonbills , pelicans , Bahama ducks and wild parrots. A large part of the island, a total of 743.57 km², has been completely closed to humans (with the exception of scientists) as a nature reserve since 1965. The National Park Inagua is a breeding ground and home to many species of birds. Two nature guides offer motorized excursions into the accessible part of the island for so-called bird-watching .
history
In the 19th century, English colonialists tried to establish cotton cultivation on the island of Great Inagua. The project was abandoned because of various pests. The donkeys brought by ship to transport the cotton from the fields to the factory were then released into the wild. Therefore there are about 5000 "wild donkeys" ( wild dunkies ) on the island today in a population that has been isolated for decades. These animals live in small families scattered across the island.
The original name Heneagua came from the Spanish word for 'here is water'. 'Inagua' is an anagram of 'iguana', the green iguana that is common on the island.
The neighboring island of Little Inagua , northeast of Great Inagua , is uninhabited and houses a nature and marine park.
Web links
- Inagua on the official website of the Bahamas (multilingual)
- Bahamas National Parks
- The Nassau Guardian , daily newspaper, Nassau, Bahamas.
Individual evidence
Abaco | Acklins | Andros | Berry Islands | Bimini | Cat Island | Cay Sal Bank | Crooked Island | Eleuthera | Exumas | Grand Bahama | Inaguas | Long Island | Mayaguana | New Providence | Ragged Island | Rum Cay | Samana Cay | San Salvador