Bimini is a group of small islands in the Bahamas. Bimini is only 50 miles east of Miami Beach, Florida. Bimini has three main islands: North Bimini, South Bimini, and East Bimini. These coral islands are small, only 7 miles long and only 200 yards wide at their narrowest. Perched at the west end of the Bahamas Bank, Bimini is surrounded by shallow water (only 20 to 30 feet deep) to the north, south, and east. To the west, the Gulf Stream current flows north through the deep water between Miami and Bimini, where the ocean is over 6000 feet deep. The Gulf Stream brings hundreds of marine animals near to the shores of Bimini.

North Bimini is long, flat, and narrow. In this picture you can see the houses and buildings of Alice Town as we fly over the harbor between North Bimini and East Bimini. Notice how clear the water is in the shallow harbor. The shallow calm harbor was a shelter for pirates in the early days of the Caribbean. We're looking out the airplane window toward the west, so the water in the distance is the Gulf Stream, and Miami is just over the horizon in the distance.

Tropical Sunrise	Spotted Dolphins	Marine Life of Bimini's Reefs
Hemingway and Fishing	Tropical Photography	Seaplane Landing

Bimini is surrounded by shallow reefs. This aerial view of the north end of North Bimini shows the reef. From the light-colored, shallow water near shore, the depth increases to 80 to 100 feet before dropping into the abyss of the Gulf Stream. Note the darker, deeper water at the bottom of this photograph. The shallow reefs are nurseries for young fish. At Rainbow Reef, near the site in this photograph, I saw a juvenile Longfin Damselfish, and many Sergeant Majors guarding nests of eggs. Rainbow Reef is a protected underwater marine park, where over 100 species of fishes have been identified.

Compare the land shown in the photograph with the map at the top of this page. Can you identify on the map the curve at the north end of the island that is visible in this photo? Notice the building on the point of land near the center of the photograph. Can you find this point, just south and west of the northernmost tip of the island, on the map?

When ReefNews traveled to Bimini, we flew on a seaplane!

Links to Bimini marine life:

Batwing Coral Crab

Sergeant Majors building an egg-mat nest.	Atlantic Spotted Dolphins frolic with snorkelers.	Giant Loggerhead Turtle rests on the reef near Cat Cay.
A Dusky Shark cruises by the ReefNews staff.	Deep-Water Sea Fan Coral stands 80 feet underwater.	Banded Coral Shrimp cleans fish on the reef.
Endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle swims at Rockwell Reef.	Feather-Duster Worms	Giant Stone Crabs hunt on The Strip.

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Learn more about the Coral Reefs of Bimini on the 2001 ReefNews CD-ROM
      Bimini: Jewel of the Gulf Stream