Serrana Bank
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Serrana Bank is a Colombian-administered
atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...
in the western
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
. It is a mostly underwater
reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...
about 50 km long and 13 km wide and has six cays, or islets, the largest of which is Southwest Cay.


Geography

The cays from south to north are: * Southwest Cay (500 by 200 meters) * South Cay (150 by 25 meters) * Little Cay (less than 100 meters in diameter) * East Cay (80 by 40 meters) * Narrow Cay * North Cay


History

Serrana Bank is believed to be named after the Spanish castaway Pedro Serrano. It was first shown on a Dutch map in 1545 with this name. They were mapped more extensively by the English in 1660. A former base for the US military, it is now mostly visited by
lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...
fishermen. It is now
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
n territory, though it was formerly claimed by the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. On September 8, 1972, the two countries signed a treaty recognizing Colombia's sovereignty over Roncador Cay and Serrana Bank and abandoning American sovereignty over Quita Sueño Bank. The United States retained a fishing concession over the three banks. This treaty became effective on September 17, 1981. On November 19, 2012, regarding Nicaraguan claims to the islands, the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
(ICJ) reaffirmed Colombia's sovereignty. On September 3, 2007, the eye of Category 5 Hurricane Felix passed over Serrana Bank.ElTiempo.com


See also

* List of Guano Island claims


References


External links


Light House Details
* * {{Authority control Caribbean islands of Colombia Atolls of Colombia Islands of the West Caribbean Caribbean islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act Former regions and territories of the United States Islands of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina Former disputed islands