This image shows a portion of Crooked Island, Bahamas which is located southeast of Long Island. This aptly named island along with Acklins Island surrounds a beautiful atoll system that contains magnificent reefs and coral formations visible in this image. Crooked Island was originally named Isabella by Columbus to honor his queen when he was sailing in these waters, most likely inspired by the fragrent aromas of its native herbs and flowers. Pirates found these islands to be a convenient base from which to attack ships traveling between Central America and Europe. Today this relatively unknown group of islands is a delight for divers and fishermen with its many reefs and tidal flats. Its cliffs and limestone formations are home to abundant birdlife and the islands boast miles of untouched white sand beaches.

The area covered by this image is approximately 34x51 miles. A full-resolution crop of the image file is available here that shows the detail present in the full image print.