Diving Nasau, The Bahamas-The Land of the Shallow Sea

The Bahamas is made up of over 3,000 islands, islets and cays, and 180,000 square miles of ocean space. The origin of the name Bahamas is derived from the Spanish ‘baja mar’, meaning "shallow sea." Most of the tourism and traffic in and out of the Bahamas takes place around its larger islands, residing in the northeastern part of the island nation. The islands of Andros, Grand Bahama and Abaco are some of the larger islands.

The city of Freeport is on the southern coast of Grand Bahama island- the northern most major Bahama Island. Grand Bahama is the closest major Bahama destination to the US state of Florida and a common docking port for cruise ships coming to and from the large US port of Miami, Floridian. There are many dive shops and dive sites to explore off Grand Bahama.

The Bimini Islands are a group of small islands that are also close to Miami, Florida, USA. To the south of Bimini and off the coast of the Florida Keys is the Cay Sal Bank that is part of The Bahamas vast ocean territory.

TheCal Sal Bank is a huge area between Cuba and the Florida Keys, where there are a few scattered, very small reef islets, where birds and plants live just inches above sea level. This is an amazing place to scuba dive and explore, just one of many in The Bahama territory.

The largest island in the Bahamas is Andros. Andros lies along the western most territory of the Bahamas and is about 200 miles from Florida. Andros Town on the eastern coast of Andros is the island's main city and port. Offshore from Andros is the small island of New Providence, where the capital city of the Bahamas, Nassau resides.

Just offshore from Nassau is Paradise Island, home to the famous resort Atlantis. Nassau has a population of over a quarter million people, and 70% of the Bahamas population live on the small island of New Providence. Nassau is a major tourist port for boat and air travel.

Between the island of Andros and the island of New Providence is a deep U-shaped oceanic trench known as the Tongue of the Ocean that is part of the Great Bahama Canyon. The trench extends south and at its deepest point reaches 6,600 feet deep. The deep trench is in stark contrast to the miles and miles of shallow bank that lies off shore most of the Bahamas islands.

To the north of Andros and Nassau are the islands of Abaco, made up of Great Abaco and Little Abaco to its north. On Abaco is Cooper's Town, a common place to embark on scuba and snorkel trips.

In general, the northwestern islands of the Bahamas offer great scuba diving and easier access because of the major ports and international airports of the larger islands. There is literally scuba diving off all of the Bahama Islands due to their shallow waters that offer pristine viability and reef that stretch for miles and miles along shorelines and offshore out in the extensive Bahama Bank shallows.

Further Reading

Overview of Diving in the Bahamas

Directory of Dive Shops in the Bahamas

Directory of Dive Sites in the Bahamas

Overview of Scuba Diving in Northwest Islands Nassau

Overview of Scuba Diving in Southeast Islands Exuma