Turks Islands

Turks Islands
Satellite image of the Turks Islands (excluding Big Sand Cay further south )
Waters	Atlantic Ocean
archipelago	Lucay Islands
Geographical location	21 ° 24 ′  N , 71 ° 9 ′  W Coordinates: 21 ° 24 ′  N , 71 ° 9 ′  W
Number of islands	11
Main island	Grand Turk
Total land area	26.8 km²
Residents	4939
Map of the Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks Islands ( English Turks Islands ) are a small group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean 142 kilometers north of the island of Hispaniola . The archipelago is separated from the Caicos Islands, 40 kilometers northwest , by the Turks Island Passage, and from the Mouchoir Bank in the east by the deep, 26 kilometers wide Mouchoir Passage . Together with the Caicos Islands, it forms the British overseas territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands .

The Turks are mostly small, flat and sparsely vegetated sand islands. The chain of islands , to which around a dozen islets belong, stretches from north to south over 38.2 kilometers as the crow flies .

Except for Salt Cay and Grand Turk , on which Cockburn Town , capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands, is located, the Turks Islands are uninhabited.

List of Turks Islands

Indisputable islands

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

Overview of the islands (pre-sorted from north to south):

Island name	annotation	Coordinates	Area km² (approx.)	Residents 2012
Grand Turk		21 ° 28 ′ 04.0 ″  N , 071 ° 08 ′ 23.0 ″  W.	17.39	4,831
The Island	Inland island	21 ° 28 ′ 15.0 ″  N , 071 ° 08 ′ 26.0 ″  W.	0.06	-
Gibbs Cay		21 ° 26 ′ 30.0 ″  N , 071 ° 06 ′ 44.0 ″  W.	0.06	-
Round Cay		21 ° 26 '12.8 "  N , 071 ° 06'29.0"  W.	0.01	-
Long Cay	Pelican Cay	21 ° 24 ′ 52.0 ″  N , 071 ° 05 ′ 55.0 ″  W.	0.19	-
Penniston Cay		21 ° 22 ′ 31.0 ″  N , 071 ° 07 ′ 17.0 ″  W.	0.03	-
Pear Cay	Bird Island	21 ° 22 ′ 23.0 ″  N , 071 ° 05 ′ 22.0 ″  W.	0.11	-
Cotton Cay		21 ° 21 ′ 49.0 ″  N , 071 ° 09 ′ 09.0 ″  W.	1.13	-
East Cay	Pinzon Cay / Breeches Island	21 ° 21 '20.0 "  N , 071 ° 05' 17.0"  W.	0.46	-
Toney Rock	Centry	21 ° 20 ′ 18.5 ″  N , 071 ° 05 ′ 11.7 ″  W.	0.005	-
Salt Cay		21 ° 19 ′ 46.0 ″  N , 071 ° 12 ′ 05.0 ″  W.	6.47	108
Whale Island		21 ° 20 '01.8 "  N , 071 ° 11' 14.2"  W.	0.003	-
Big Sand Cay		21 ° 11 ′ 33.0 ″  N , 071 ° 14 ′ 55.0 ″  W.	0.58	-

Disputed islands

Little Sand Cay between the southern tip of Grand Turk Island and Cotton Cay ( 21 ° 23 ′ 44.4 ″  N , 071 ° 09 ′ 26.5 ″  W ) measures only a few hundred square meters, changes its size and location over time and can at Spring tide be completely flooded.

Endymion Rock is believed to be a coral reef in the south of the Turk Bank ( 21 ° 07 ′  N , 071 ° 18 ′  W ) that reaches only a few meters below the water surface . According to one source, it is a shoal where the HMS Endymion sank in 1790 and gave the place its name. Endymion Rock is marked as an island on other maps .

literature

• HE Sadler, Marjorie Sadler, Karen Collins: Turks Islands Landfall: A History of the Turks & Caicos Islands . 1997, ISBN 976-8138-62-9 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 2012 Population and Housing Census - Preliminary Report. (PDF; 1.69 MB) In: caribbeanelections.com. KnowledgeWalk Institute, p. 26 , accessed September 25, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Visit Turks & Caicos Islands: Other Cays of the Turks and Caicos Islands : This patch of ground is simply a small round sand bar. Found two miles south of Grand Turk, Little Sand Cay changes size and location over time and can be totally submerged during a spring tide.
3. ↑ Donald Keith: Turks & Caicos: Endymion Rock. Expedition report. Waitt Institute, archived from the original on October 8, 2018 ; accessed on September 25, 2019 (English). 
4. ↑ CIA Map 1976