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  Great Guana Cay The location of Great Guana Cay within the Bahamas | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 26°40′41″N77°07′44″W / 26.678°N 77.129°W /26.678; -77.129 |
| Type | Cay |
| Archipelago | Lucayan Archipelago |
| Administration | |
Great Guana Cay is anislet inThe Bahamas. It is a long, narrow islet, 7 miles (11 km) long.[1] It is in the centre of theAbaco Islands and is nearGumelemi Cay. It is about 8 miles from Marsh Harbour. Approximately 150 people live on the island, mostly along the five and a half mile long stretch of beach.
Great Guana Cay's settlement is known for its loyalist culture and architecture, as well as its social scene. Several traditional loyalist homes are in the settlement, which wraps around a natural harbor.
Great Guana Cay is an Abacobarrier island that hostselkhorn andstaghorn coral reefs. It also contains a large amount of virgin forest, where migrating birds and resident Abaco species live.Loggerhead sea turtles,green sea turtles andhawksbill sea turtles nest on the island's beaches. Bothwhite-crowned pigeons andwhite-tailed tropicbirds nest on the island. Before removal of the crabbing-groundmangroves by a golf development, land crabs such asmountain crabs were common and were hunted for food by the native population.
Acove on the island called Kidd's Cove was named after thepirateWilliam Kidd.
Great Guana Cay came to international attention in conservation circles when the residents of the island grouped to form Save Guana Cay Reef, an organization designed to fight the large footprint of theBaker's Bay Golf & Ocean Club, located atBaker's Bay.[2]Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society, theSierra Club,Greenpeace, Global Coral Reef Alliance, Mangrove Action Network and other conservation groups are working with the native islanders in a battle against the golf resort, which they say will destroy the island's mangroves andcoral reef.
