Morant Cays | reef

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  Wolfgang Schippke (guest)

  Morant Cays (by Wolfgang Schippke, DC3MF, Germany) Morant Cays is an offshore island group about 50 km SSE off Morant Point, Jamaica. The island group is located on a wide bank of partly drying coralreef about 100 km². The drying bank with the islets is about 7 km long and only 0.8 km wide. The bank rises abruptly from 1000 m depth. The Morant Cays are under the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture and any stay and landing needs a special permit.The total landarea is about 50 acres and there are three low laying islets: North-East Cay (17N25; 75W59) is only 1 m above high water and in heavy sea it becames some patches of water. Near the highest point is a fishercamp, offen visited from Jamaica. The fronting reef is drying and allways the sea breaks heavy. On the islet is a watertank and on the fronting reef is a lighthouse at Breezy Point, the easternmost point of the cay. North-West Cay (17N24; 75W58) is about 300 by 450 m in area and composited of coral and sand. The remainds of an iron platform, built in the 1950’s stands on the cay. In heany sea the cay is overflooted. South-East Cay (17N23; 76W00) is about 2 km from North-East Cay. The island is fronded with drying sandpatches and spits. South-West Cay (South Islet) (17N23; 76W01) is the most southern part of Morant Caysand located about 1600 meters southwest of South-East Cay. A rocky ledge extends from the cay and the remainds of a today disused peer is on the ledge. The Islands are coved with low laying scrubb and some small bushes. The fauna consits of seabirds and some insectes. All islands are composited of sand and not higher than 3 meters. In the past there was a small guano-industrie on the islets. The cays were annexed in 1862 by the United Kingdom and added to Jamaica in 1882. The cays have been the scene of many wrecks, therefore, the greatest caution must be exercised when navigating in their vicinity. A large fishery-ship with 800 tons is located on the outer reef in the far south. Only less is known about the history. It is possible that in the 7th century indios came on one of the cays and named them Taino. Taino was the name how heard C. Columbus in 1494 when he arived at Jamaika. It is known that Taino was the name for the complete group of land and cays. On the well known map of Benedetto Bordone from 1528 the Morant Cays are not inserted. In 1590 the British Morant arived the cays on his search for water and named by himself. It is sayed that Morant was one of Glovers navigators. Till the 10th of May 1655 complete Jamaica and his surrounding islets were a part of Spain and became afterwards a Britis colony till 1962. The cays also the Pedro Cays became into the 17th century a pirate camp. In 1856 the USA wanted the offlaying cays for guano-mining, but the British government did not allow that for the US Mining and Guano Co.

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