Editing The Bahamas (section)

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of the Bahamas}}

[[File:Bahamas, The-CIA WFB Map (2004).png|thumb|left|Map of the Bahamas]]
[[File:Bahamabank.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Most of the Bahamas are the above-water part of the [[Bahama Banks]] (light blue). <br/>During the ice ages these would have been two large islands]]

The landmass that makes up what is the modern-day Bahamas, lies at the northern part of the [[Greater Antilles]] region and was believed to have been formed 200 million years ago when they began to separate from the supercontinent [[Pangaea]]. The [[Pleistocene Ice Age]] around 3 million years ago, had a profound impact on the archipelago's formation.

The Bahamas consists of a [[List of islands of the Bahamas|chain of islands]] spread out over some {{cvt|500|mi|km|order=flip}} in the Atlantic Ocean, located to the east of [[Florida]] in the United States, north of Cuba and [[Hispaniola]] and west of the British Overseas Territory of the [[Turks and Caicos Islands]] (with which it forms the [[Lucayan archipelago]]). It lies between latitudes [[20th parallel north|20°]] and [[28th parallel north|28°N]], and longitudes [[72nd meridian west|72°]] and [[80th meridian west|80°W]] and straddles the [[Tropic of Cancer]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/> There are some 700 islands and 2,400 cays in total (of which 30 are inhabited) with a total land area of {{cvt|10010|km2}}.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/><ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>

[[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], capital city of the Bahamas, lies on the island of [[New Providence]]; the other main inhabited islands are [[Grand Bahama]], [[Eleuthera]], [[Cat Island, Bahamas|Cat Island]], [[Rum Cay]], [[Long Island, Bahamas|Long Island]], [[San Salvador Island]], [[Ragged Island, Bahamas|Ragged Island]], [[Acklins]], [[Crooked Island (Bahamas)|Crooked Island]], [[Exuma]], [[Berry Islands]], [[Mayaguana]], the [[Bimini]] islands, [[Great Abaco]] and [[Great Inagua]]. The largest island is [[Andros, Bahamas|Andros]].<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>

All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than {{cvt|15|to|20|m|ft|0}}. The highest point in the country is [[Mount Alvernia]] (formerly Como Hill) on Cat Island at {{cvt|64|m}}.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/>

The country contains three terrestrial ecoregions: [[Bahamian dry forests]], [[Bahamian pine mosaic]], and [[Bahamian mangroves]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref> It had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 7.35/10, ranking it 44th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the Bahamas [[forest cover]] is around 51 per cent of the total land area, equivalent to 509,860 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 509,860 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 0 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 0 per cent was reported to be [[primary forest]] (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 0 per cent of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 80 per cent of the forest area was reported to be under [[State ownership|public ownership]], 20 per cent [[Private property|private ownership]] and 0 per cent with ownership listed as other or unknown.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content|title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|year=2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Bahamas|url=https://fra-data.fao.org/assessments/fra/2020/BHS/home/overview|website=Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref>

===Climate===
{{See also|Geography of the Bahamas#Climate}}
[[File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_BHS_present.svg|thumb|upright=1.45|The Bahamas map of [[Köppen climate classification]]]] According to the [[Köppen climate classification]], the climate of the Bahamas is mostly [[tropical savannah climate]] or ''Aw'', with a hot and wet season and a warm and dry season. The low latitude, warm tropical [[Gulf Stream]], and low [[elevation]] give the Bahamas a warm and winterless climate.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rabb|first1=George B.|last2=Hayden|first2=Ellis B.|last3=Van Voast|year=1957|title=The Van Voast-American Museum of Natural History Bahama Islands Expedition (1952–1953): record of the expedition and general features of the islands|journal=[[American Museum Novitates]]|issue=1836|hdl=2246/4700|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2246/4700|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710182605/https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/4700|url-status=live}}</ref>

As with most tropical climates, seasonal rainfall follows the sun, and summer is the wettest season. There is only a {{cvt|7|C-change}} difference between the warmest month and coolest month in most of the Bahama islands. Every few decades low temperatures can fall below {{cvt|10|°C}} for a few hours when a severe cold outbreak comes down from the North American mainland, however there has never been a frost or freeze recorded in the Bahamian Islands. Only once in recorded history has snow been seen in the air anywhere in the Bahamas. This occurred in Freeport on 19 January 1977, when snow mixed with rain was seen in the air for a short time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=40th Anniversary of Snow in South Florida|url=https://www.weather.gov/media/mfl/news/SnowArticleSouthFlorida40th.pdf|website=weather.gov|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-date=29 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129224612/https://www.weather.gov/media/mfl/news/SnowArticleSouthFlorida40th.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bahamas are often sunny and dry for long periods, and average more than 3,000&nbsp;hours or 340&nbsp;days of sunlight annually. Much of the natural vegetation is tropical scrub and cactus and succulents are common in landscapes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahamas|website=Caribbean Islands|url=http://www.caribbeanislands.org/the-bahamas/|access-date=4 December 2015|date=4 December 2015|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208064633/http://www.caribbeanislands.org/the-bahamas/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Tropical storms and hurricanes occasionally impact the Bahamas. In 1992, [[Hurricane Andrew]] passed over the northern portions of the islands, and [[Hurricane Floyd]] passed near the eastern portions of the islands in 1999. [[Hurricane Dorian]] of 2019 passed over the archipelago at destructive [[Saffir–Simpson scale|Category&nbsp;5 strength]] with sustained winds of {{cvt|185|mph|order=flip}} and wind gusts up to {{cvt|220|mph|order=flip}}, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone on record to impact the northwestern islands of Grand Bahama and Great Abaco.<ref name=DorianBahamas>{{cite report|url=https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2019/al05/al052019.public.033.shtml?|title=Hurricane Dorian Advisory Number 33|publisher=NHC|access-date=1 September 2019|archive-date=1 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901214656/https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2019/al05/al052019.public.033.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Show Your Stripes change in temperature graphic for All of The Bahamas with bars with labels.png|thumb|Temperature change in The Bahamas, each bar represents the average temperature over that year.]]
[[Climate change]] is causing temperature increases in the Bahamas. The average temperature has increased by approximately 0.5&nbsp;°C since 1960, and the rate of warming is more rapid in warmer seasons.<ref>{{Cite web |last=World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal |title=Bahamas |url=https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/bahamas/climate-data-historical |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org |language=en}}</ref> Global temperature rise of 2&nbsp;°C above preindustrial levels can increase the likelihood of extreme [[Tropical cyclone|hurricane]] rainfall by four to five times in the Bahamas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berardelli |first=Jeff |date=2020-08-29 |title=Climate change may make extreme hurricane rainfall 5 times more likely, study says - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-may-make-extreme-hurricane-rainfall-five-times-more-likely-study-says/ |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=L Vosper |first1=E |last2=M Mitchell |first2=D |last3=Emanuel |first3=K |date=2020-10-01 |title=Extreme hurricane rainfall affecting the Caribbean mitigated by the paris agreement goals |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab9794 |journal=Environmental Research Letters |volume=15 |issue=10 |pages=104053 |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/ab9794 |bibcode=2020ERL....15j4053L |issn=1748-9326|hdl=1721.1/133619.2 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The Bahamas is expected to be highly affected by [[sea level rise]] because at least 80 per cent of the total land is below 10 meters elevation.<ref name="Lewsey2004">{{cite journal |author1=Clement Lewsey |author2=Gonzalo Cid |author3=Edward Kruse |date=2004-09-01 |title=Assessing climate change impacts on coastal infrastructure in the Eastern Caribbean |journal=Marine Policy |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=393–409 |doi=10.1016/j.marpol.2003.10.016|bibcode=2004MarPo..28..393L }}</ref> Climate change could also affect the seasonality of outbreaks and transmission of disease in the Bahamas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Health and climate change: country profile 2021: the Bahamas |url=https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-HEP-ECH-CCH-21.01.03 |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.who.int |language=en}}</ref>

Although the country's [[greenhouse gas emissions]] are comparatively small (2.94 million tonnes of green house gases emitted in 2023),<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Matthew W. |last2=Peters |first2=Glen P. |last3=Gasser |first3=Thomas |last4=Andrew |first4=Robbie M. |last5=Schwingshackl |first5=Clemens |last6=Gütschow |first6=Johannes |last7=Houghton |first7=Richard A. |last8=Friedlingstein |first8=Pierre |last9=Pongratz |first9=Julia |last10=Le Quéré |first10=Corinne |date=2023-03-29 |title=National contributions to climate change due to historical emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide since 1850 |url=https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02041-1 |journal=Scientific Data |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=155 |doi=10.1038/s41597-023-02041-1 |pmid=36991071 |issn=2052-4463|pmc=10060593 |bibcode=2023NatSD..10..155J }}</ref> the Bahamas is reliant on imported [[fossil fuel]]s for energy generation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=World Data |title=Energy consumption in the Bahamas |url=https://www.worlddata.info/america/bahamas/energy-consumption.php |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=Worlddata.info |language=en}}</ref> The government plans to increase [[solar energy]] capacity to 30 per cent of the country's total energy production by 2033.<ref>{{Cite web |last=The Bahamas Ministry of Economic Affairs |title=The Bahamas set to aggressively expand its use of solar energy by 2033 |url=https://moea.gov.bs/the-bahamas-set-to-aggressively-expand-its-use-of-solar-energy-by-2033/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2024-12-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> The Bahamas has pledged to reduce its emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, if international support is received.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bahamas Climate Change Data {{!}} Emissions and Policies |url=https://www.climatewatchdata.org/countries/BHS?end_year=2021&start_year=1990 |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.climatewatchdata.org}}</ref>

===Geology===
{{main|Bahama Banks}}
[[File:Dean Blue Hole Long Island Bahamas 20110210.JPG|thumb|[[Dean's Blue Hole]] in [[Clarence Town]] on [[Long Island, Bahamas]]]]
[[File:Blue Lagoon.JPG|thumb|The [[Blue Lagoon Island]], Bahamas]]

It was generally believed that the Bahamas were formed approximately 200 million years ago, when Pangaea started to break apart. In current times, it endures as an archipelago containing over 700 islands and cays, fringed around different [[coral reef]]s. The [[limestone]] that comprises the Banks has been accumulating since at least the [[Cretaceous]] period, and perhaps as early as the [[Jurassic]]; today the total thickness under the Great Bahama Bank is over 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles).<ref name=NASA>{{cite web|url=http://geoinfo.amu.edu.pl/wpk/geos/GEO_6/GEO_PLATE_C-16.HTML|title=Geomorphology from Space, Chapter 6: Coastal Landforms. Plate C-16, 'Great Bahama Bank'|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=geoinfo.amu.edu.pl|access-date=9 March 2006|archive-date=25 March 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050325012629/http://geoinfo.amu.edu.pl/wpk/geos/GEO_6/GEO_PLATE_C-16.HTML|url-status=live}}</ref> As the limestone was deposited in shallow water, the only way to explain this massive column is to estimate that the entire platform has [[subsidence|subsided]] under its own weight at a rate of roughly 3.6 centimetres (2 inches) per 1,000 years.<ref name=NASA/>
The Bahamas is part of the [[Lucayan Archipelago]], which continues into the Turks and Caicos Islands, the [[Mouchoir Bank]], the [[Silver Bank]], and the [[Navidad Bank]].<ref name=Carew/> The Bahamas Platform, which includes the Bahamas, Southern Florida, Northern Cuba, the Turks and Caicos, and the [[Blake Plateau]], formed about 150 [[megaannum|Ma]], not long after the formation of the North Atlantic. The {{cvt|6.4|km||adj=on}} thick [[limestone]]s, which predominate in the Bahamas, date back to the [[Cretaceous]]. These limestones would have been deposited in shallow seas, assumed to be a stretched and thinned portion of the [[North American Plate|North American continental crust]]. Sediments were forming at about the same rate as the crust below was sinking due to the added weight. Thus, the entire area consisted of a large marine plain with some islands. Then, at about 80&nbsp;Ma, the area became flooded by the [[Gulf Stream]]. This resulted in the drowning of the Blake Plateau, the separation of the Bahamas from Cuba and Florida, the separation of the southeastern Bahamas into separate banks, the creation of the [[Cay Sal Bank]], plus the [[Bahama Banks|Little and Great Bahama Banks]]. Sedimentation from the "carbonate factory" of each bank, or [[atoll]], continues today at the rate of about {{cvt|20|mm}} per [[kyr]]. [[Coral reef]]s form the "retaining walls" of these atolls, within which [[oolite]]s and [[pellets (petrology)|pellets]] form.<ref name="Sealey">{{cite book|last1=Sealey|first1=Neil|title=Bahamian Landscapes; An Introduction to the Geology and Physical Geography of The Bahamas|date=2006|publisher=Macmillan Education|location=Oxford|isbn=9781405064064|pages=1–24}}</ref>

Coral growth was greater through the [[Tertiary (geology)|Tertiary]], until the start of the [[ice ages]], and hence those deposits are more abundant below a depth of {{cvt|36|m}}. In fact, an ancient extinct reef exists half a kilometre seaward of the present one, {{cvt|30|m}} below sea level. Oolites form when oceanic water penetrate the shallow banks, increasing the temperature about {{cvt|3|C-change}} and the salinity by 0.5 per cent. [[Cementation (geology)|Cemented]] [[ooid]]s are referred to as grapestone. Additionally, giant [[stromatolite]]s are found off the [[Exuma Cays]].<ref name=Sealey/>{{rp|22,29–30}}

[[Sea level change]]s resulted in a drop in sea level, causing wind blown oolite to form [[sand dune]]s with distinct [[cross-bedding]]. Overlapping dunes form oolitic ridges, which become rapidly [[lithified]] through the action of rainwater, called [[eolianite]]. Most islands have ridges ranging from {{cvt|30|to|45|m}}, though Cat Island has a ridge {{cvt|60|m}} in height. The land between ridges is conducive to the formation of lakes and swamps.<ref name=Sealey/>{{rp|41–59,61–64}}

[[Solution weathering]] of the limestone results in a "Bahamian [[Karst]]" topography. This includes [[pothole (geology)|potholes]], [[blue hole]]s such as [[Dean's Blue Hole]], [[sinkhole]]s, [[beachrock]] such as the [[Bimini Road]] ("pavements of Atlantis"), [[caliche|limestone crust]], caves due to the lack of rivers, and [[sea caves]]. Several blue holes are aligned along the South Andros [[fault (geology)|Fault]] line. [[Tidal flat]]s and [[tidal creek]]s are common, but the more impressive drainage patterns are formed by troughs and canyons such as [[Great Bahama Canyon]] with the evidence of [[turbidity current]]s and [[turbidite]] deposition.<ref name=Sealey/>{{rp|33–40,65,72–84,86}}

The [[stratigraphy]] of the islands consists of the [[Middle Pleistocene]] Owl's Hole [[formation (geology)|Formation]], overlain by the [[Late Pleistocene]] Grotto Beach Formation, and then the [[Holocene]] Rice Bay Formation. However, these units are not necessarily stacked on top of each other but can be located laterally. The oldest formation, Owl's Hole, is capped by a [[terra rossa (soil)|terra rosa]] [[paleosoil]], as is the Grotto Beach, unless [[eroded]]. The Grotto Beach Formation is the most widespread.<ref name=Carew>{{cite book|last1=Carew|first1=James|last2=Mylroie|first2=John|editor1-last=Vacher|editor1-first=H.L.|editor2-last=Quinn|editor2-first=T.|title=Geology of Bahamas, in Geology and Hydrology of Carbonate Islands, Developments in Sedimentology 54|url=https://archive.org/details/geologyhydrogeol00vach_559|url-access=limited|date=1997|publisher=Elsevier Science B.V.|location=Amsterdam|isbn=9780444516442|pages=[https://archive.org/details/geologyhydrogeol00vach_559/page/n109 91]–139}}</ref>