The Long Grenada Bank

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The Long Grenada Bank

Moored Boat, Grand Anse Beach, Grenada, Caribbean Photographic Print
Miller, John...
12 in. x 9 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted

The southern 20 miles of this long bank, which turns somewhat to the southwest, is island-free; whatever volcanic islands have served as it foundation are now wholly submerged. Four small shoals, from 4 to 10 fathoms in depth, rising on the northwestern side of this part of the bank, may mark former island summits. The northern 60 miles of the bank are occupied by the little Grenadines, as above noted. The intermediate portion is crowned by the mountainous island of Grenada. The bank is peculiar in having a less depth than that of its neighbors.

Most of the southwestern, island-free stretch is only from 12 to 20 fathoms deep; the northeastern part, occupied by the Grenadines, is from 12 to 25 fathoms deep. The border depth is everywhere about 30 or 40 fathoms. This suggests that the bank as a whole has, along with its many islands, suffered a slight uplift about contemporaneous with the Postglacial rise of ocean level.

Discontinuous bank reefs are charted, often a little below sea level, along the southeastern coast of Grenada and among or around the Grenadines. The longest reef is a well defined but submerged bank barrier near the mid-eastern bank border; it has depths of from 12 to 20 fathoms; the bank next inside has depths of from 24 to 27 fathoms.

If all this long bank were either island-free, like its southwestern part, or were occupied by little islands like the Grenadines, it would constitute a systematic sequel to the Virgin bank, where most of the surmounting islands are still of a considerable size. But the addition of the large and lofty island of Grenada, which appears to be of relatively recent eruptive growth after the formation of the bank was well advanced, is an added element of complication and as such far outranks the low-lying mud flows of St. Lucia.