The Baths is a beach area on the island of
Virgin Gorda among the
British Virgin Islands
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, song_type = Territorial song
, song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands"
, image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg
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in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
.
Geography
The Baths is situated about south off the maintown
Spanish Town
Spanish Town ( jam, label= Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. T ...
at the southern tip of the island between Spring Bay and Devil's Bay. The Baths is an area of unique geologic formations and one of the BVI's major tourist destinations.
Area
Although volcanism accounts for much of the Virgin Islands, The Baths was formed by
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...
that
eroded into piles of boulders on the beach. Granite forms from the slow cooling of magma at depth nowhere close to surface volcanoes. The granite only appears at the surface after geologic ages have eroded away all the overburden covering it. Once exposed, erosion continued to isolate the granite into large boulders and round their surfaces. The boulders form natural
tidal pools, tunnels, arches, and scenic
grotto
A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high t ...
es that are open to the sea. The largest boulders are about long.
Since 1990, the area has been a BVI National Park as are the adjacent bays,
National Parks , British Virgin Islands , Caribbean Destination , BVI
/ref> and the area is a major tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...
attraction, with swimming and snorkelling being the main attractions.
Gallery
Image:Virgin Gorda 12.jpg, The Baths
Image:Virgin_Gorda_Boulders2.jpg, Boulders at The Baths
Image:TheBaths RockFormation BritishVirginIslands Feb6-2000.jpg, Rock formation at The Baths
Image:VirginGordaTheBaths.jpg, Bay area at The Baths
Image:CaveAtTheBaths01.JPG, Underwater Cave at The Baths
Notes
External links
{{commonscat-inline, The Baths (Virgin Gorda)
about The Baths
about The Baths
map of The Baths area
pictures from The Baths
about The Baths National Park
Geography of the British Virgin Islands
Water in the British Virgin Islands
Virgin Gorda