Grand Turk Island
Encyclopedia
Grand Turk Island is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands
. It is the largest island
in the Turks Islands (the smaller of the two archipelagos that make up the island nation) with 18 km² (6.9 sq mi). It contains the territory's capital, Cockburn Town
and the JAGS McCartney International Airport
. The island is the administrative, historic, cultural and financial center of the territory, and has the second largest population of the islands at approximately 3,720 people.
Grand Turk gained international attention in 1962 when John Glenn
's Friendship 7
Mercury spacecraft
landed in the vicinity of Grand Turk Island off the southeast shoreline. A replica of the Friendship 7 is on display in Grand Turk at the entrance to the Grand Turk Island airport.
The name comes from a species of cactus
on the island, the Turk's Cap Cactus (Melocactus
) intortus, which has a distinctive cap, reminiscent of a Turkish
fez
.
It is possibly the landfall island of Christopher Columbus
during his discovery of the New World in 1492. San Salvador Island
or Samana Cay
in the Bahamas
is traditionally considered the site of Columbus' first landfall
, but some believe that studies of Columbus' journals show that his descriptions of Guanahani
much more closely fit Grand Turk than they do other candidates.
In 1966 at least five sounding rocket
s were launched from Grand Turk Island http://www.astronautix.com/sites/grasland.htm
Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...
. It is the largest island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Turks Islands (the smaller of the two archipelagos that make up the island nation) with 18 km² (6.9 sq mi). It contains the territory's capital, Cockburn Town
Cockburn Town
Cockburn Town is the capital city of the Turks and Caicos Islands.-Location and features:Cockburn Town is located on the largest island in the Turks Islands archipelago, Grand Turk Island. Historic 18th and 19th century Bermudian architecture line Duke and Front Streets in Cockburn Town...
and the JAGS McCartney International Airport
JAGS McCartney International Airport
JAGS McCartney International Airport , also known as Grand Turk International Airport, is an airport located one mile south of Cockburn Town on Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos Islands, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The airport named for James Alexander George Smith...
. The island is the administrative, historic, cultural and financial center of the territory, and has the second largest population of the islands at approximately 3,720 people.
Grand Turk gained international attention in 1962 when John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
's Friendship 7
Mercury-Atlas 6
Mercury-Atlas 6 was a human spaceflight mission conducted by NASA, the space agency of the United States. As part of Project Mercury, MA-6 was the successful first attempt by NASA to place an astronaut into orbit. The MA-6 mission was launched February 20, 1962. It made three orbits of the Earth,...
Mercury spacecraft
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
landed in the vicinity of Grand Turk Island off the southeast shoreline. A replica of the Friendship 7 is on display in Grand Turk at the entrance to the Grand Turk Island airport.
The name comes from a species of cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
on the island, the Turk's Cap Cactus (Melocactus
Melocactus
Melocactus is a genus of cactus with about 40 species. They are native to the Caribbean, northern South America, with some species along the Andes down to southern Peru, and a concentration of species in northeastern Brazil....
) intortus, which has a distinctive cap, reminiscent of a Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
fez
Fez (clothing)
The fez , or tarboosh is a felt hat either in the shape of a red truncated cone or in the shape of a short cylinder made of kilim fabric. Both usually have tassels...
.
It is possibly the landfall island of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
during his discovery of the New World in 1492. San Salvador Island
San Salvador Island
San Salvador Island, also known as Watlings Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas. Until 1986, when the National Geographic Society suggested Samana Cay, it was widely believed that during his first expedition to the New World, San Salvador Island was the first land sighted and visited...
or Samana Cay
Samana Cay
Samana Cay is the largest now uninhabited island in the Bahamas, believed by some researchers to have been the location of Columbus's first landfall in the Americas, on October 12, 1492....
in the Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
is traditionally considered the site of Columbus' first landfall
Voyages of Christopher Columbus
In the early modern period, the voyages of Columbus initiated European exploration and colonization of the American continents, and are thus of great significance in world history. Christopher Columbus was a navigator and an admiral for Castile, a country that later founded modern Spain...
, but some believe that studies of Columbus' journals show that his descriptions of Guanahani
Guanahani
Guanahani was the name the natives gave to the island that Christopher Columbus called San Salvador when he arrived at the Americas. Columbus reached the island on 12 October 1492, the first island he sighted and visited in the Americas...
much more closely fit Grand Turk than they do other candidates.
In 1966 at least five sounding rocket
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
s were launched from Grand Turk Island http://www.astronautix.com/sites/grasland.htm