Rosalind Bank

Rosalind Bank
Placer de Rosalinda

Submerged bank

Rosalind Bank (Caribbean)

Sea Caribbean
Area Nicaragua Rise
Country Disputed territory
Minimum depth 22 m

Rosalind Bank, also called Rosalinda or Rosa Linda Bank (Spanish: Placer de Rosalinda),[1] is a large, completely submerged bank or atoll that lies with its southern extremity 269 km (1677 mi) ENE of Cabo Gracias a Dios, at 16°26′N 80°31′W / 16.433°N 80.517°W / 16.433; -80.517. It is the culmination of an area of coral reef some 300 km (186 mi) long that is stretching out eastward from Cabo Gracias a Dios. The bank area is part of an extensive structure that continues further east through Pedro Bank towards Jamaica and is known as Nicaragua Rise.

Geography

Rosalind is 101 km (63 mi) long in a north-south direction, and 56 km (35 mi) wide, as defined by the 200 m (656 ft) isobath, which corresponds to an area of roughly 4 500 km² (1737 sq mi). General depths range from 18 to 37 m (59 to 121 ft), an almost immediate transition from the 300 m (984 ft) depth of surrounding waters. The bottom is of coarse sand and coral.[2]

Several patches of depths from 7.3 to 11 m (24 to 36 ft) lie on a 23 km (14 mi) long coral ledge located 3 km (2 mi) within the SE edge of the bank. A detached 11 m (36 ft) patch lies near the SW edge of the bank, 21.7 km (13 mi) WNW of the southern end of this ledge. A depth of 10.9 m (35 ft 10 in) lies close to the northern edge of the bank.

An extensive bank 66 km (41 mi) long and 16 km (10 mi) wide, with an area of 830 km² (320 sq mi), lies 18 km (11 mi) west of Rosalind Bank. Depths over this bank range from 7 to 66 m (23 to 217 ft). The shallowest detached patches are found along the eastern edge of the bank. A detached 11 m (36 ft) patch lies on the northern part of the bank. 6 km (4 mi) further west lies Thunder Knoll.

30 km (18 mi) southeast of Rosalind Bank is Serranilla Bank. The cays on it are the closest pieces of dry land.

Several countries claim that their EEZs extend over Rosalind Bank, including Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, the United States, and Jamaica.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Derrotero de las islas Antillas y de las costas orientales de América p. 333
  2. ↑ Sector 6. Coasts of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico
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