• United States!

    United States: Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Go Now!

    United States
    Explore the vast openness and wildlife found roaming in the western United States, including Theodore Roosevelt National Park (pictured) in North Dakota. Begin Your Journey!

  • Trinidad & Tobago!

    Trinidad & Tobago: Beautiful Coastline. Go Now!

    Trinidad & Tobago
    These Caribbean islands mix Indian, African, and European cultures alongside beautiful beaches. Go Now!

  • St. Kitts & Nevis!

    St. Kitts & Nevis: Nevis Island. Go Now!

    St. Kitts & Nevis
    This island nation mixes aspects of European, African, and Caribbean culture... not to mention incredible beaches. Go Now!

  • Honduras!

    Honduras: Children. Go Now!

    Honduras
    The original banana republic, Honduras has made a name for itself with the banana trade; however foreign influences have also vastly altered the culture. Go Now!

  • Mexico!

    Mexico: Sunrise over the mountains in Puerto Vallarta. Go Now!

    Mexico
    Although many people just go for the beaches, Mexico offers impressive mountain vistas (pictured in Puerto Vallarta), great food, and historic ruins that compete with the best in the world. Begin Your Journey!

  • Barbados!

    Barbados: Pier on the beach. Go Now!

    Barbados
    This Caribbean island has hints of British culture, but is wholly Caribbean as well. Explore Barbados!

Geography, Weather, & Wildlife of the Bahamas

Geography

Bahamian Geography - Bahamas from the air
Bahamas from the air

The Bahamas are an island chain stretching from the east coast of Florida (in the United States) to Turks & Caicos (a territory of the United Kingdom) in the southeast. To the island chain's east is the Atlantic Ocean and just off the west coast is Cuba.

The Bahamas consist of hundreds of small islands. These islands are the remains of a limestone shelf, much of which is still submerged and many of the islands are taller than ten feet (three meters) in elevation at the highest point. The Bahamas has no rivers.

Weather

The Bahamas have a semi-tropical weather pattern with a cooler and warmer season. During the warmer season, which lasts from about May to November the winds tend to come from the south, bringing warm and humid air as temperatures can get up to 90° F (32° C) daily. The temperature during cooler months, from about December to April, dips to about 65° F (18° C) at night, but gets warmer during the days; some years this season can bring strong winds from the continental United States and temperatures can get as cold as 50° F (10° C) for days at a time, although this is rare. Most of the rain in the Bahamas falls in May-June and August-October. Although hurricanes can hit the Bahamas, they are not as common as they are in other Caribbean locations; hurricane season lasts from June to November, which is when the Bahamas also receives most of their tropical storms.

Wildlife

Bahamian Wildlife - Crab
Crab

The Bahamas has an odd wildlife system as the island nation has few indigenous mammals; only the raccoon, hutia, and bats are native, although goats, pigs, and other mammals have been brought by people. This simplicity is countered with the country's incredible sea life. As an island nation there are thousands of fish surrounding the country and the coral reefs surrounding the islands together create a larger coral system than the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. These waters contain larger animals like sharks and whales, but also include eels, angelfish, barracudas, grouper, sponges, lobsters, snapper, and thousands more.

Like the sea life, there are plenty of birds that live on the islands or migrate through. These birds are almost entirely limited to water fowls like ducks, flamingos, and heron, but there are other non-water fowl species that call the islands home such as the parrot. The reptilian and amphibian life is also limited in scope, but there are turtles, snakes, iguanas, and lizards of all kinds. There are numerous other species, including insects and spiders on the islands.

This page was last updated: November, 2013