The Bahamas are country in North America.
This archipelago is often described as “the pearl of the Caribbean”.
It occupies an area of 13 940sq.km.
The islands are located in closeness with the mainland of North America.
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Only the strait of Florida separate the Bahamas from the continent.
They are situated in approximately 45km from the islands of Turks and Caicos, 130km northeast of the largest Caribbean Island – Cuba and 90km south-easterly direction from the American State of Florida.
The Bahamas is the archipelago with largest number of islands on the Caribbean.
It consists of about 700 islands.
Because of the coral origin of the archipelago the height of the islands is insignificant.
The highest point is only 63m above the sea level.
The main islands are Grand Bahama, Little Abaco, Great Abaco, Mores Island, North Bimini, South Bimini, Berry Islands, Andros,Williams, Billy, New Brovidence, Russel, Royal, Harbour, Current, Rose, Little San Salvador, Darby, Cat, Long Island, Mayaguana, Plana Cays, Long Cay, Crooket Island, Ragget Islands and so on.
From north-west to south-west the archipelago stretches in length of about 857km. the north tropical circle cross the islands.
This fact reflect very strong to the local climate, natural resources and of course to the economy.
Weather
The archipelago gets into the borders of the tropical climate zone.
This means that the temperatures are high all year around.
The daily temperatures vary between 25 and 32°C in depending of the season.
The night temperatures are more than 18°C even in January when is the temperature minimum.
The climate in this part of the year is most bearable.
During the winter months the weather is perfect for visitors coming from the temperate climate zones of Europe, Asia or North America. The summer is too hot and humid.
Moreover, the humidity increases with the rising of the temperatures.
But in contrast to the majority of the tropical destinations the the climate in the Bahamas is neither too wet nor too dry.
During the summer months the rainfall is more significant.
The rainfall in September and October is about 170 millimeters.
In December, January, February and March fall not more than 30 – 40mm for a month.
The hurricane season lasts from April to November.
The sea water in this part of the year is too warm – more than 30°C and because of this reason the water turn into fuel for the strong tropical storms.
During the winter months the sea water is cooler – about 27°C and therefore the treat of hurricanes significantly reduced.
Nature
The natural beauties of the Bahamas are great.
The biggest part of the islands is covered by lush tropical greenness.
Of course there is also areas where predominate the grassy and bushy vegetation.
The Bahamas are world famous with its fabulous beaches.
It is considered that the beaches of the Bahamas are most beautiful in the north hemisphere.
The sand has specific color – it gradate between white and pink.
This is because the coral origin of the beaches.
The huge ocean waves break the reefs into tiny particles.
In the course of time the coral dust bank up on the coast and form incredible beaches.
Around the beaches you can see woodlands with typical local tropical species and of course coco palms.
These woodlands offer coolness and shade in the hot hours of the day.
In other places the sandy beaches give way to the dense Mangrove forests, which are quite common in this part of the world.
They are an important habitat for many rare species of birds, fishes and other sea creatures.
The coral reefs are gorgeous and in combination with the clear and limpid ocean waters allow to the lovers of the diving to enjoy the magnificent underwater scenery.
The Bahamas is the first place in the new world that Christopher Columbus has discovered in its quest of short way to India travel in western direction.
Population
The population of this archipelago is approximately 304 000 people and it is very unevenly distributed on the territory of the islands.
The capital of the Bahamas is Nassau.
It has population of 212 000 people and it is the largest city in the island country.
Freeport is the second largest city with much more modest population of about 70 000 people.
The official language is English, the official currency – Bahamian Dollar.
The country is a member of the British community as many other countries (Australia and New Zealand for example).
The head of the state is the Queen of the United Kingdom.
Four – fifths of the population is of African-American origin.
The standard of living is a quite high and in this respect, the country is one of the leaders of the continent (of course after The United States and Canada) as well as Costa Rica and Dominican Republic.
Economy
The GDP (gross domestic product) is approximately 18 000$ per capita, which is higher than the GDP of many European countries, and in particular in Eastern Europe.
About ½ of the country’s revenues come from tourism.
The islands are visited by 1,7 million tourists each year.
The rest part of the proceeds of the Bahamas comes from the production of fruits, vegetables and financial activities.
The islands are a big hit of the property market.
The interest come mainly from residents of the United States, but also other developed countries especially from Europe.
The well-off can buy even a whole island.
Many celebrities are interested of the Bahamas and want to own a private island where to live absolutely undisturbed.
For some people this dream already have become reality.
Surely there is some special charm to live in a place where you can here only the sound of the waves and the song of the birds.
However, the closeness of The United States to this exotic nature (particularly the islands of Bimini) is what make this archipelago to be so attractive.
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