San Salvador Island
Isla San Salvador, Ilha São Salvador
24°04′N 74°29′W
San Salvador Island, previously Watling's Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas, famed for being the probable location of Christopher Columbus's first landing of the Americas on 12 October 1492 during his first voyage.
Terrain
24°04′N 74°29′W
Overview
San Salvador Island, previously Watling's Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas, famed for being the probable location of Christopher Columbus's first landing of the Americas on 12 October 1492 during his first voyage. This historical importance, the island's tropical beaches, and its proximity to the United States have made tourism central to the local economy. The island has a population of 824 (2022) and is under the administration of Gilbert C. Kemp. Its largest settlement and seat of local government is Cockburn Town.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Chart
Nearest islands
- Long Island108 km
- Acklins187 km
- Eleuthera202 km
- Mangrove Cay317 km
- Great Inagua350 km
- North Andros Island366 km
Also in Lucayan Archipelago

North Andros Island
3,323 km²▲ 24 m
Major islands

Great Inagua
1,541 km²▲ 33 m
Major islands

Great Abaco
1,074 km²▲ 40 m
Major islands

Grand Bahama
671 km²▲ 18 m
Major islands
Mangrove Cay
568 km²▲ 35 m
Major islands

Acklins
434 km²▲ 41 m
Major islands

Eleuthera
416 km²▲ 58 m
Major islands
Long Island
405 km²▲ 31 m
Major islands
Also in The Bahamas

North Andros Island
3,323 km²▲ 24 m
Major islands

Great Inagua
1,541 km²▲ 33 m
Major islands

Great Abaco
1,074 km²▲ 40 m
Major islands

Grand Bahama
671 km²▲ 18 m
Major islands
Mangrove Cay
568 km²▲ 35 m
Major islands

Acklins
434 km²▲ 41 m
Major islands

Eleuthera
416 km²▲ 58 m
Major islands
Long Island
405 km²▲ 31 m
Major islands
Also in Caribbean
Cuba
109,884 km²
Major islands
Cuba
105,261 km²▲ 1,974 m
Major islands

Hispaniola
73,990 km²▲ 3,098 m
Major islands
Haiti
27,750 km²
Major islands

Jamaica
10,962 km²▲ 2,256 m
Minor islands

Island of Puerto Rico
8,703 km²▲ 1,328 m
Minor islands

Trinidad
4,823 km²▲ 940 m
Minor islands

North Andros Island
3,323 km²▲ 24 m
Minor islands
Photographs
Sources
Facts
Photographs
- Blowhole in aragonitic limestone (just east of The Notch, southern margin of San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1 (15418136074). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Blowhole in aragonitic limestone (just east of The Notch, southern margin of San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 6 (16038454371). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Halite in storm wave splash pool (Green Cay, offshore San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1 (16031480525). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Micritic calcrete paleosol & eolianite limestone clasts filling the bottom of a dissolution pit (Sandy Point Northeast roadcut, San Salvador Island, Bahamas) (16282359139). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Nerita tessellata (checkered nerite snails) in a rocky shore intertidal zone (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1 (16030752095). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Nerita tessellata (checkered nerite snails) in a rocky shore intertidal zone (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 2 (16004979986). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Petaloconchus sp. (vermetid gastropod colony) (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1 (49130740092). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Brachidontes domingensis (Domingo mussels) encrusting intertidal-zone aragonitic limestone (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1 (15814945218). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Brachidontes domingensis (Domingo mussels) encrusting intertidal-zone aragonitic limestone (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 2 (15976549706). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Brine in storm wave splash pool (Green Cay, offshore San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1 (16029534511). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Brine in storm wave splash pool (Green Cay, offshore San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 2 (16030797802). James St. John / CC BY 2.0
- Bubble porosity (aeration holes) in aragonite beach sand (Columbus Monument beach, western San Salvador Island, eastern Bahamas) (15971367271). James St. John / CC BY 2.0












