Overview
The islands of the Bahamas are generally flat with occasional dunes and beach ridges that slope into plains and marshes. Forests cover about 15 percent of the total land area, and are mainly located on the four islands of the North-western Bahamas (Ahaco, Andros, Grand Bahamas and New Providence). These forests are largely a monoculture of self-regenerating Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis, occasionally interspersed with coppices of hardwoods such as mahogany. A variety of palms are found in the Bahamas. Grand Bahama has mangrove swamps along its north coast. Logging in the pine forests ceased in the mid-1970s. Most of the forests are on Crown land. The Bahamas has a network of 12 National Parks with the largest land areas in Inagua National Park and Abaco National Park.
Geographic Description
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, located in the West Indies, consists of a chain of about 700 islands and islets and many more cays, reefs and rocks, extending for about 1200 km from a point off the east coast of Florida to the north-eastern tip of Cuba. The principal islands include Acklins, Andros, Cat, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, Great Abaco, Great Exuma, Great Inagua, Little Abaco, New Providence, and San Salvador. Only about 40 of the islands are inhabited. Total area is estimated at 13 880 km2.
Most of the Bahamas are long, narrow strips of limestone, covered by a thin layer of stony, infertile soil. Pine forests cover parts of many of the islands.
The Bahamas have a mild oceanic climate. Temperatures average about 22° C during the winter and about 29° C in the summer. Rainfall averages about 1 100 mm annually.