Port Royal Cays
Encyclopedia
The Port Royal Cays is a small group of uninhabited islands or cay
s off Port Royal
, Jamaica
, located at 17°55′06.36"N 76°49′11.96"W and arranged in the shape of an atoll
with a diameter between 4 and 5 km, and a total area of 12 km². The land area is about 0.03 km². There are eight named cays, including South Cay Rock which is sometimes subsumed with South Cay.
Gun Cay, the northernmost, is only 400 meters from the Jamaican mainland.
The main cay is Lime Cay, on the northeastern rim. It measures 380 meters northwest-southeast, and is up to 80 meters wide, measuring 2 ha
in area. About half of the area is wooded, the rest is sand and coral. On the western beach is a wooden hut.
The individual cays, clockwise starting in the north:
Cay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
s off Port Royal
Port Royal
Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, located at 17°55′06.36"N 76°49′11.96"W and arranged in the shape of an atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
with a diameter between 4 and 5 km, and a total area of 12 km². The land area is about 0.03 km². There are eight named cays, including South Cay Rock which is sometimes subsumed with South Cay.
Gun Cay, the northernmost, is only 400 meters from the Jamaican mainland.
The main cay is Lime Cay, on the northeastern rim. It measures 380 meters northwest-southeast, and is up to 80 meters wide, measuring 2 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
in area. About half of the area is wooded, the rest is sand and coral. On the western beach is a wooden hut.
The individual cays, clockwise starting in the north:
- Gun Cay (northernmost)
- Lime CayLime CayLime Cay is the main islet of the Port Royal Cays off Port Royal, Jamaica, located in the northeast of the reef.Located 15 minutes by boat from Port Royal, it has a small beach which makes it a popular location for recreation and sunbathing...
(largest, most important) - Maiden Cay
- Southeast Cay (easternmost)
- South Cay (almost connected with South Cay Rock)
- South Cay Rock (unvegetated, southernmost)
- Drunkenmans Cay (westernmost)
- Rackhams CayCalico JackJohn Rackham , commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas during the early 18th century...
(smallest)
Literature
- T. Goreau and Kevin Burke: "Pleistocene and Holocene Geology of the Island Shelf near Kingston, Jamaica", Marine Geol. 4 (1966), 207-225