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The Caribbean Isle of West Caicos is the most westerly and, thought by many to be, the most beautiful island in the Turks and Caicos archipelago.  It is ringed by more than 10 miles of white, sandy beaches and coves, protected by dramatic sand dunes covered with lush thatch palms and sea grass.  The balance of the shoreline is rugged ironshore – limestone weathered into ragged rock – rising to 50 feet above the sea.  There are names etched into these rocks by early visitors dating back to the 1800’s.

 

The crystal clear waters surrounding the Isle of West Caicos have inviting, year round surface temperatures ranging from 78-85 degrees and provide a widely varied marine environment, from the sandy flats and banks dotted with coral heads to the 3,000-foot drop-offs just offshore.

 

The western shore faces the open sea and is home to the Caicos Wall, considered to be on of the finest diving sites in the world.  The north shore, known for its three mile beach, is sheltered by sand dunes and protected by a continuous coral reef.  The eastern shore is a continuous beach, cooled by the prevailing easterly breezes, and gently sloping into the protected waters of the Caicos Banks.

 

Beyond the reef are game fish, such as tuna, blue marlin, wahoo, snapper, and barracuda.  During January through March, humpback whales migrate along the western shore on their way south to breeding grounds north of the Dominical Republic.  Inshore, bonefish are found on the eastern and southern sand flats, and lobsters are plentiful in the numerous shallow coral heads.

These islands also support 175 resident and migrant species of birds, including flocks of Greater Flamingos, frigate birds, ospreys, brown pelicans, peregrine falcons and red-tailed hawks, to name only a few.

Occupied only by the animals of nature and of the sea.  Splendid silence, treasured isolation, astonishing beauty.  This is the setting for the Isle of West Caicos – only 575 miles southeast of Miami and 39 Miles southeast of the Bahamas – that awaits, luring and inviting discovery.

  Much of the interior of the island is relatively unexplored, but is known to abound with interesting natural features and remnants of its past history.  Numerouse Salinas and the 500-acre Lake Catherine are nestled between rolling hills and rock-crested ridges, home to a large resident population of flamingos.  The southern end of the island contains three knows “boiling springs”, salt-water ponds that have a subterranean connection to the ocean.  Divers have recently explored these springs a distance of 240 feet along their paths to the sea, and are mapping the subterranean route.  Several small fresh water springs also exist on the southern portion of the island. 

  Many miles of old trails lace the island, connecting the original settlements, which were abandoned in the late 1800’s and mid- 1900’s.  Fascinating remnants of long past activities still remain, and archeologists will work to preserve this history through the creation of “living” museum in the near future.

 

 

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