Why go
The Great and Little Bahama Banks are broad shallow platforms beneath many islands and cays, or small islands. Knowing that layout helps you read the pale water, understand the scattered land and choose a base by terrain rather than treating every island as interchangeable.
The full story
The islands rise from shallow oceanic platforms called the Bahama Banks: the Great Bahama Bank, Little Bahama Bank and Cay Sal Bank. Andros is the largest island; Nassau is on New Providence, while Freeport is on Grand Bahama. Abaco lies east of Grand Bahama, and Great Inagua sits much farther south. The ground is mostly limestone formed from older marine material. It is low, with rocky areas and mangrove swamps rather than high mountains. Pineyards occur on Grand Bahama, Great Abaco, New Providence and Andros; low scrub is widespread, and some southern islands support low tropical hardwoods. Fresh water is limited on the surface, though Andros has a river. These differences matter on the ground. A harbour walk in Nassau, a pineyard landscape on Grand Bahama and mangrove terrain on Andros show distinct sides of the same archipelago.