Bahamas’ Long Island

Only 80-miles long and four-miles wide, Long Island is one of the most scenic hideaways in The Islands of the Bahamas. It’s famous for its world-class scuba diving and bonefishing. The island is divided by the Tropic Of Cancer and is bordered on each side by two contrasting coasts, one with soft, white beach; the other with rocky headlands that descend into the sea and serve as boundaries for the crashing waves. The topography of the island varies as well from sloping hills in the northeast to low hillsides in the south to stark white flatlands and swampland to pristine beaches, all of which combine to create a picturesque landscape and an ideal haven for seamen, sun-lovers, and vacationers alike.

Long Island was originally named Yuma by the Lucayan Indians and was renamed Fernandina by Christopher Columbus upon his third landfall in New World. Then, in 1790, Fernandina was settled by Loyalists from the Carolinas and their slaves. They built large plantations and produced sea-island cotton until the abolition of slavery, which made the plantations unprofitable.

Today, many of the Loyalist mansions still stand as a reminder of the island's past. Although the plantations are overgrown and non-productive, agriculture is still a very important part of life. Pot-hole farming, which is a method that utilized holes in the limestone where fertile top-soil collects, yields much of the food supply for the other islands, including peas, corn, pineapples, and bananas. Raising sheep, goats, and pigs is also popular amongst Long Islanders.

Pace of life has not changed much from Long Island's deep past. The carriage road, built more than a century ago, is lined by the island's major settlements of Burnt Ground, Simms, Wood Hill, Clarence Town, Roses, and South Point, all situated around the island's harbours and anchorages.

For more information on Long Island and The Out Islands of the Bahamas, contact the Bahama Out Islands Promotion Board at (800) 688-4752.

Recommended Reading

Frommer's 2002 Bahamas by Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince
Click here to purchase this book: Frommer's 2002 Bahamas (Frommer's...

Fodor's 2002 Bahamas by Justine A. Rathbun
Click here to purchase this book: Fodor's 2002 Bahamas (Fodor's Bahamas)

Bahamas Cruising Guide: With the Turks and Caicos Islands by Mathew Wilson
Click here to purchase this book: Bahamas Cruising Guide (The): With the...