Flat Point (or Flat Point Peninsula) is an area on the northeastern coast of

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine * Saba, ...

, an island in the

Dutch Caribbean The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the New World territories, colonies, and countries (former and current) of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the norther ...

. It is located in the lower part of the

Hell's Gate Hells Gate, Hell's Gate, Hell Gate or Hells Gates may refer to: Places Africa * Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya Antarctica * Hells Gate (Antarctica), Victoria Land * Hells Gate Moraine, Victoria Land Asia * Nyalam Town, Tibet * A location in N ...

village, known as Lower Hell's Gate. Flat Point is the location of Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, the

Tide Pools A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. These pools typically range from a few inches to a few feet deep and a few feet across. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only ...

, ruins of a 17th-18th century

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

and

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

plantation, and

Cove Bay Cove Bay, known locally as Cove, is a suburb on the south-east edge of Aberdeen, Scotland. Today Cove is home to around 8,000 people. It is a popular residential location owing to its village-like status. It is a quiet suburb at the Southern e ...

History

Flat Point was formed during volcanic activity about 5,000 years ago. A large

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

flowed down the northeast side of the island into the ocean, forming the Flat Point

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

as it cooled. Humans would not occupy the area for at least another 3,000 years. Flat Point was occupied by

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

sometime between 400 A.D. and 800 A.D. Archeological surveys carried out by Ryan Espersen uncovered

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

and

conch shell Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ends). Conchs ...

adze An adze () or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in ha ...

s. From the 1650s through the 1770s, Flat Point was the site of a sugar and indigo plantation (referred to as "Flat Point Plantation" by archeologists). The plantation was the site of at least one indigo

boiling house A boilery or boiling house is a place of boiling, much as a bakery is a place of baking. Boilery can also mean the process and equipment for boiling. Although they are now generally confined to factories, and usually boil industrial products ra ...

, two wells, and two domestic structures for enslaved Africans. The

Great Hurricane of 1780 The Great Hurricane of 1780 was the deadliest tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere. An estimated 22,000 people died throughout the Lesser Antilles when the storm passed through the islands from October 10 to October 16. Specifics on the h ...

caused extensive damage to the plantation and it was not rebuilt. In 1781, Flat Point may have been the landing point for the British during their capture of Saba, under the command of Admiral

George Brydges Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularl ...

. On some maps, Flat Point is called “Rodney’s Head”. Saba Runway march 2012

On February 9, 1959, Remy de Haenen made the first landing of an aircraft on the island of Saba, on Flat Point. Nearly the entire population of the island was in attendance for the landing. In the 1960s, construction of an airport at Flat Point began, as Flat Point is one of the only level areas on the entire island. On July 24, 1963, Saba's airport, Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, officially began service. Stretching across Flat Point, the airport's

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

is widely acknowledged as the shortest commercial runway in the world, with a length of .

Nature

Geology

Flat Point was created by a large (

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

andesitic Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

) lava flow, stretching from above Upper Hell's Gate down into the ocean. Lava rock formations from this flow can be seen in the Flat Point Tide Pools. These

tide pool A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. These pools typically range from a few inches to a few feet deep and a few feet across. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only ...

s are located below the airport, and feature large lava rock formations filled with colorful saltwater pools.

Flora and fauna

Vegetation on Flat Point consist mostly of grasses, cacti, and succulents, due to the dry conditions and thin soil resulting from continuous coastal winds. These plants include '' Crotons flavens L.,

Kalanchoe pinnata ''Kalanchoe pinnata'', commonly known as cathedral bells, air plant, life plant, miracle leaf, Goethe plant, and love bush, is a succulent plant native to Madagascar. It is a popular houseplant and has become naturalized in tropical and subtropic ...

, Pilosocereus lanuginosis,

Tabebuia heterophylla ''Tabebuia heterophylla'' is a species of tree native to the Caribbean, and is also cultivated elsewhere. It is also known as roble blanco, pink manjack, pink trumpet tree, white cedar, and whitewood. Description ''Tabebuia heterophylla'' grows ...

,'' and ''

Coccoloba uvifera ''Coccoloba uvifera'' is a species of tree and flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Its common names include seagrape and baygrape. It is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean. It has edible fru ...

''. The Flat Point Tide Pools are home to diverse marine life, including small fish,

sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

s, crabs, and sea flora. Off the coast of Flat Point are protected

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s that are part of the

Saba National Marine Park The Saba National Marine Park encompasses the waters and sea bed encircling the Caribbean island of Saba, Caribbean Netherlands, from the high water mark to deep. In total, the marine park covers approximately . At the time of its creation in 1 ...

. Birdwatchers can see numerous bird species at Flat Point, including the Common Ground Dove (''Columbigallina passerina nigrirostris''), the Brown Noddy (''Anous stolidus stolidus''), and the

Least Sandpiper The least sandpiper (''Calidris minutilla'') is the smallest shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-colored waterside birds. The specific ''minutilla'' is Medieval Lat ...

(''Calidris minutilla''). Flat Point is a nesting site for the

White-tailed Tropicbird The white-tailed tropicbird (''Phaethon lepturus'') or yellow-billed tropicbird is a tropicbird. It is the smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It is found in the tro ...

(''Phaeton lepturus catesbyi;'' also called the Yellow-billed Tropicbird).

Hiking

Flat point has one hiking trail: the Flat Point Trail. The hike is an out-and-back trail extending to the Flat Point Tide Pools, about 15–25 minutes each way. The trail passes by the ruins of the indigo boiling house of the so-called Flat Point Plantation. The trail access is located on the road going from Saba's airport to Cove Bay. Hikers are cautioned about

rip current A rip current (or just rip) is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore by cutting through the lines of bre ...

s (especially from November to April) and sharp rocks when exploring the tide pools.

Gallery

File:Gezicht op de kust van Saba, Bestanddeelnr 252-8279.jpg, Photo of Flat Point before construction of airport File:Saba Airport, Most Dangerous Airport in the World, Horizontal (6550007689).jpg, Photo of Flat Point after construction of airport File:Saba airport 2.jpg, Saba's airport, Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport File:Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba, Nov 2009.jpg, Propeller plane preparing for takeoff from Flat Point File:Saba Flughafen.jpg, Saba's runway on Flat Point

References

{{Saba Landforms of Saba (island) Geography of Saba (island)