The Morant Cays is an offshore island group 51 km SSE off Morant Point,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

. It is one of two offshore island groups belonging to Jamaica, the other one is the

Pedro Cays Pedro Bank is a large bank of sand and coral, partially covered with seagrass, about 80 km south and southwest of Jamaica, rising steeply from a seabed of 800 metres depth. It slopes gently from the Pedro Cays to the west and north with depths f ...

. They are located at and consist of four small islets grouped closely together along the southeastern rim of Morant Bank a comparatively extensive crescent-shaped bank of

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secre ...

, over 7 km long, rising from 1000 m. The area of Morant Bank is about 100 km². The aggregate land area of the four cays is only 16.0

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s or 39.5

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s. The Morant Cays are low-lying, mostly uninhabited, seasonally visited by fishermen, and fronted by highly exposed reefs over which the sea constantly breaks.

History

The cays were annexed in 1862 by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and added to Jamaica in 1882.

Flora and fauna

The islands have sparse vegetation and are a seabird rookery and turtle nesting area. Seabird eggs and guano are collected periodically.

Islets

North-East Cay , at , is sometimes divided into three parts, the sea washing over the connecting sand spits. There is a fishermen's camp, established by the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture, with several huts and a water tank on the south side of the cay. There is a lighthouse at Breezy Point, the easternmost point of the cay and of Jamaica. North-West Cay South-East Cay, at , lies 1.9 km SSW of North-East Cay. Sand spits, which extend from its ends, alter in shape with the seasons of the year; in summer the SW spit is washed away and deposited on the W side of the cay. South-West Cay (South Cay), at , lies 1.6 km southwest of South-East Cay. A rocky ledge extending from the cay is used as a pier.

References

External links

Sailing Directions, Caribbean Sea, Vol. IGazetteer: Geographic Names of Jamaica
*{{cite web , url=http://islands.unep.ch/ISP.htm , publisher= United Nations System-wide Earthwatch , title=Island Directory Islands of Jamaica Seabird colonies Geography of Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica