West Caicos Island
West Caicos is a small island that is renowned for its diving possibilities. The island is about 16 km (10 miles) long and 3 km (2 miles) wide and surrounded by the Molasses Reef, which hosts one of the oldest known shipwrecks in the Western Hemisphere. The ship ran aground in 1509. The reefs off West Caicos' western shore are include in the West Caicos Marine National Park and thus protected.
Apart from the old shipwreck there are several other good dive sites around West Caicos. They include Elephant Ear Canyon, which got its name from the sponges that grow there and that are among the biggest ones in the Turks and Caicos Islands. There are also some underwater caves. Another feature is the Magic Mushroom, which consists of a sand chute that leads to a precipice where sponges and black coral anchor the corals.
Inland is Lake Catherine, which is a nature reserve that is home to birds such as ducks, flamingos, ospreys and waders.
There are several hotels and restaurants on West Caicos. The island is 140 km west of Cockburn Town.
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