What Are the Physical Features of the Bahamas?
The Bahamas has 700 islands and 2,400 cays. It has a total area of 5,382 square miles. The highest point in the Bahamas is Mount Alvernia, which is located on Cat Island, at 206.7 feet.
The Bahamas is an island country located in the western Atlantic Ocean. As of 2014, only about 30 of its islands are inhabited. The largest Bahamian island is Andros, located 120 miles southeast of Florida. Politically considered a single island, Andros has a total area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. To the north of Andros is the island of Grand Bahama, home to the country’s second-largest city, Freeport. In the far south is the island of Great Inagua, the second-largest island in the country. Nassau is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas and is located on New Providence. New Providence, which is one of the smallest of the major islands, is home to almost 70 percent of the country’s population.
The land on the Bahamas has a foundation of fossil coral and is primarily either rocky or mangrove swamp. Low scrub covers much of the surface area. Only a few freshwater lakes and a single river, located on Andros Island, are found in the Bahamas.
