Navidad Bank
Encyclopedia
Navidad Bank is an area in the Atlantic Ocean
north of the Dominican Republic
and southeast of the Territory of Turks & Caicos. It is separated from Silver Bank
by the wide Navidad Bank Passage. It is a shallow underwater area composed of coral and sand that almost reaches the ocean's surface, but is wholly submerged. It covers an area of 650 km². At low tide, a few small locations appear awash at the water's surface. General depths are less than 36.6 m. There is a least known depth of 12.8 m located on the east side of the north end of the bank. It is not suitable for boating navigation of any kind, except by small craft, whose operators must be extremely careful. From the earliest colonial times, the Navidad Bank has been the scene of various shipwreck
s.
This area is considered part of the Dominican Republic. A Dominican presidential decree on July 5, 1996, included the area as part of the Sanctuary for the Marine Mammals of the Dominican Republic.
The Navidad Bank has a wealth of coral
s and is a safe haven for marine mammals, including the humpback whale
. The humpback whales have long used the Bank as a breeding and calving ground.
As such, tourism focuses on tours to view the whales and other sea life. The Bank is visited by scuba divers.
Just to the northwest is the Silver Bank
, also under the jurisdiction of the Dominican Republic.
Navidad Bank, Silver Bank, as well as Mouchoir Bank
further northwest, are geographically considered a continuation of the Bahamas.
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
north of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and southeast of the Territory of Turks & Caicos. It is separated from Silver Bank
Silver Bank
Silver Bank is an area in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Dominican Republic and southeast of the Territory of Turks & Caicos. It covers an area of 1680 km² . It is separated from Mouchoir Bank in the west by Silver Bank Passage, and from Navidad Bank in the east by Navidad Bank Passage...
by the wide Navidad Bank Passage. It is a shallow underwater area composed of coral and sand that almost reaches the ocean's surface, but is wholly submerged. It covers an area of 650 km². At low tide, a few small locations appear awash at the water's surface. General depths are less than 36.6 m. There is a least known depth of 12.8 m located on the east side of the north end of the bank. It is not suitable for boating navigation of any kind, except by small craft, whose operators must be extremely careful. From the earliest colonial times, the Navidad Bank has been the scene of various shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s.
This area is considered part of the Dominican Republic. A Dominican presidential decree on July 5, 1996, included the area as part of the Sanctuary for the Marine Mammals of the Dominican Republic.
The Navidad Bank has a wealth of coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
s and is a safe haven for marine mammals, including the humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
. The humpback whales have long used the Bank as a breeding and calving ground.
As such, tourism focuses on tours to view the whales and other sea life. The Bank is visited by scuba divers.
Just to the northwest is the Silver Bank
Silver Bank
Silver Bank is an area in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Dominican Republic and southeast of the Territory of Turks & Caicos. It covers an area of 1680 km² . It is separated from Mouchoir Bank in the west by Silver Bank Passage, and from Navidad Bank in the east by Navidad Bank Passage...
, also under the jurisdiction of the Dominican Republic.
Navidad Bank, Silver Bank, as well as Mouchoir Bank
Mouchoir Bank
Mouchoir Bank, in Spanish also called Banco de Pañuelo Blanco is located southeast of the Turks islands and is geographically a continuation of the Bahamas. It is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands and falls within its EEZ. Much of its north side is awash in two groupings of coral reef. A 1.8 m...
further northwest, are geographically considered a continuation of the Bahamas.