 NASA Landsat image of the Morant Cays and Bank, visible color -33 percent brightness and +66 percent contrast enhanced | |
  Morant Cays | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Caribbean |
| Coordinates | 17°24′N75°59′W / 17.400°N 75.983°W |
| Administration | |
The Morant Cays is an offshore island group 51 km SSE off Morant Point, Jamaica. It is one of two offshore island groups belonging to Jamaica, the other one is the Pedro Cays.
In 1780, HMS Pelican, under the command of Cuthbert Collingwood was navigating off Morant Cays when a hurricane descended around the area and the ship was destroyed on the Cays. [1] The crew were shipwrecked but managed to get ashore in rafts where they remained for ten days until rescued. [1] The island group has been the site of many other shipwrecks. [2]
The cays were annexed in 1862 by the United Kingdom and added to Jamaica in 1882.
Morant Cays Lighthouse was built on the island to warn shipping of the presence of the islands.
The cays are located at 17°24′N75°59′W / 17.400°N 75.983°W and consist of four small islets grouped closely together along the south-eastern rim of Morant Bank, an extensive crescent-shaped bank of coral, over 7 km long, rising from a depth of 1,000 m. The area of Morant Bank is about 100 km2. The aggregate land area of the four cays is only 16 hectares (40 acres). The Morant Cays are low-lying, mostly uninhabited, seasonally visited by fishermen, and fronted by highly exposed reefs over which the sea constantly breaks.
The islands have sparse vegetation and are a seabird rookery and turtle nesting area. Seabird eggs and guano are collected periodically. A 15,000 ha site, comprising the cays and surrounding waters, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant breeding populations of seabirds, including brown noddies as well as sooty, bridled and royal terns. [3]
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