Arashi Beach | |
---|---|
Beach and village | |
Coordinates: 12°36′34″N70°03′11″W / 12.609426°N 70.053106°W | |
Country | Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Constituent Country | Aruba |
Region | Noord |
Village | Arashi |
Arashi (or Arasji) is a settlement and beach on the northwestern tip of Aruba, in Noord district. It is close to Malmok, Kudarebe and the California Lighthouse. The beach is popular for swimming and snorkeling. [1] [2]
Arashi is a toponym of indigenous origin. One possible etymology is that Arashi is the singular form Warashi meaning "Bonefish". Arashi is one of the best sites to fish for bonefish in Aruba and the fish was an important part of the Aruba Caquetío diet. [3]
Another possibility is that Arashi is a bastardized form of Arasi or Araci in which case the components Ara and Ci would mean "people" and "head", respectively. In this case, the name Arashi would then have the meaning of "head of the people" or "people's head". [4]
The Arashi Beach is a participant in the Aruba Reef Care Project to clean up reefs, shallow waters and public beaches. Arashi is Blue Flag certified, part of a program to promote green behavior and increase eco-awareness on the island. [5]
Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, situated in the south of the Caribbean Sea. Aruba is located approximately 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná and 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Curaçao.
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a Lesser Antilles island in the southern Caribbean Sea, specifically the Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of Venezuela. It is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The national flag of the Netherlands is a horizontal tricolour of red, white, and blue. The current design originates as a variant of the late 16th century orange-white-blue Prinsenvlag, evolving in the early 17th century as the red-white-blue Statenvlag, the naval flag of the States-General of the Dutch Republic, making the Dutch flag the oldest tricolour flag in continuous use. As a flag that symbolises the transformation from monarchy to republic, it has inspired both the derivative Russian flag, and after the French Revolution in 1789, the vertically striped French tricolour; both flags in turn influenced many other tricolours. During the economic crisis of the 1930s, the old Prince's Flag with the colour orange gained some popularity among some people. To end the confusion, the colours red, white and blue and its official status as the national flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands were reaffirmed by royal decree on 19 February 1937.
The national flag of Aruba was adopted on 18 March 1976, along with the official anthem "Aruba Dushi Tera". The flag was partially designed by vexillologist Whitney Smith. On 18 March Aruba celebrates National Anthem and Flag Day, marked by local events across the island. It is also a significant day as it represents the Kingdom of the Netherlands giving Aruba an autonomous status.
Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 80 km off the coast of Venezuela. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round, and they lie outside the Main Development Region for tropical cyclones. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites, shipwrecks and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.
This is a demography of the population of Aruba including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The geography of Aruba, located at the juncture of the South American and Caribbean tectonic plates, has been shaped by a complex interplay of geological processes. From its flat expanses to its rugged coastlines, Aruba's geography and geology reveal the island's geographical diversity and its underlying geological formations, offering a comprehensive understanding of Aruba's terrain and environmental dynamics of this Caribbean destination.
The ABC islands is the physical group of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. These have a shared political history and a status of Dutch underlying ownership, since the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 ceded them back to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Curaçao and Dependencies from 1815. They are a short distance north of the Falcón State, Venezuela. Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the countries, and its special municipalities, are outside the European Union; citizens have Dutch nationality and the former colonial power benefits from preferential trade, mineral and natural resource rights, particularly offshore.
Oranjestad, the capital and most populous of Aruba's eight regions, is located on the southwestern coast of the island. In Papiamento, the local language, Oranjestad is commonly referred to as "Playa" by the locals.
The culture of Aruba, encompassing its language, music, and cuisine, is diverse and has been influenced by both regional and foreign cultures. One significant foreign influence originates from the Iberian Peninsula, which had a significant impact on the island for approximately 137 years, starting c. 1500. These influences were characaterized by a strong religious presence, missionary activities, and economic exploitation.
Noord is a town and region in Aruba. This town is known for its low rise and high rise hotels, restaurants, beaches, malls, the California Lighthouse, and other places of attraction.
The Los Roques Archipelago is a federal dependency of Venezuela consisting of approximately 350 islands, cays, and islets in a total area of 40.61 square kilometers. The archipelago is located 128 kilometers (80 mi) directly north of the port of La Guaira, in the Caribbean Sea.
Caquetío are natives of northwestern Venezuela, living along the shores of Lake Maracaibo at the time of the Spanish conquest. They moved inland to avoid enslavement by the Spaniards, while their numbers were drastically affected by colonial warfare, as were their neighbours, the Quiriquire and the Jirajara. The Caquetíos were also present in Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire when these islands were first colonized by Alonso de Ojeda in 1499. The occupants of this region were known as Caquetíos by the Spaniards and their language (Caquetío) belongs to the Arawakan family of languages. The Caquetío and the Jirajara spoke the same language, and their cultures were quite similar. The Arawakan or Caquetío language is termed a "ghost" language because virtually no trace of it survives. Only the name remains, saved in 17th-century texts.
The history of Curaçao starts with settlement by the Arawaks, an Amerindian people coming from the South American mainland. They are believed to have inhabited the island for many hundreds of years before the arrival of Europeans.
Palm Beach is a tourism district about 6 kilometers northwest of Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba. Many high-rise hotels are located there, such as Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort & Casino, Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, Barceló, Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, Ritz Carlton Resort, and RIU Palace Aruba. A shopping district adjacent to the hotels was finished in 2009 and includes two large malls called Paseo Herencia and Palm Beach Plaza Mall. Little North of Palm Beach is Malmok Beach, a small sandy strip running all the way to the northern tip of Aruba. Smaller apartment complexes and luxurious holiday homes are located along this dead-end Boulevard. Hadicurari Beach (kiting), Arashi Beach and Boca Catalina (snorkeling) are popular locations.
The California Lighthouse, known by locals as Faro stands tall on a limestone plateau at Hudishibana, near Arashi Beach and Sasariwichi dunes on the northwestern tip of Aruba. It holds the distinction of being the tallest structure in Aruba. This lighthouse derives its name from a British steamship, S.S. California, which sank in 1891, predating the lighthouse's construction. The lighthouse was specifically erected to prevent similar tragedies. In May 2016, the lighthouse underwent a restoration, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of its completion.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The realm is not a federation; it is a unitary monarchy with its largest subdivision, the eponymous Netherlands, predominantly located in Northwestern Europe and with several smaller island territories located in the Caribbean.
Caquetío is an extinct Arawakan language family. The language was spoken along the shores of Lake Maracaibo, in the coastal areas of the Venezuelan state of Falcón, and on the Dutch islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
Curaçao, as well as the rest of the ABC islands and Trinidad and Tobago, lies on the continental shelf of South America. It is a thin island with a generally hilly topography; the highest point is Christoffelberg 372 m (1,220 ft) in the northwest. The coastline's bays, inlets and hot springs offer a source of natural minerals, thermal conditions, and seawater used in hydrotherapy and mesotherapy, making the island one of many balneoclimateric areas in the region. Off the southeast coast lies the small, flat island of Klein Curaçao.
The origin and meaning of the name of Aruba are uncertain due to limited knowledge about the Caquetío language spoken by the Caquetío people who lived on the island before European colonization. However, the name "Aruba" is believed to be a Hispanized Indigenous name of Arawak origin.