BAHAMAS, or LUCAY'OS, a chain of islands stretching in a n.w. direction from the neighborhood of the n. coast of Hayti to that of the e. coast of Florida. From Florida they are separated by the channel through which flows the gulf stream (q.v.); and from Cuba, by the old Bahama channel. These are the principal passages between the open ocean and the gulf of Mexico. The chain extends in n. lat. from 20' 55' to 27° 31', and in w. long. from 72' 40 to 79° 5', having an entire length from n.w. to s.e. of about 550 in.; and it rests mainly on two shoals—the Great Bank to the a., and the Little Bank to the n. There are upwards of 3000 islands and rocks, but only about 30 of any size. The chief members of the group, if reckoned from the n.w., are these: Great Bahama; Abaco; Eleuthera; New Providence; Andros; Guanahani or Cat island, or San Salvador; Wat ling's island; Exuma: Long island; Crooked islands; 3Iaricuana; Inagua; Little Inagua; Caicos; Turk's island.
The area is 3021 sq.m. ; and in 1871 the pop. was 39,162. The pop. of Turk's island, officially separate from the B., is 4723. The revenue of the B. in 1874 was £36,573; the expenditure, £36,627. The value of the total imports in 1873 was 1'226,306; of the exports, £156,613. The islands generally are of reef-like shape, long, narrow, and low. With very little appearance of soil, they derive considerable fertility from the tendency of the porous rock to retain moisture. Besides excellent pasturage, they yield corn, maize, cotton, pine-apples. lemons, oranges, pimetho, and a species of cinnamon.
In the larger islands, too, there is excellent timber. Cotton cultivation received a great impulse during the American civil war. During the summer, the temperature ranges from 73° to 93' F. • but in the winter the climate is so delightfully- temperate as to be generally prescribed in the United States for pulmonary complaints. The annual fall of rain is from 43 to 45 in., being heaviest in Oct., Nov., and Dec., hut pretty equally distributed over the other months. On Oct. 1, 1860, a furious and most destructive cyclone visited the Bahamas.
The B. were Columbus's earliest discovery. But the precise spot of his first landing has not been ascertained. Guanahani or Cat island has generally been believed to be. the San Salvador of Columbus; but recent investigations appear to have transferred the, honor to Watling's island, situated a little further to the east. The B. havingbeen depopulated, lint not again colonized, by the Spaniards, were occupied by the English in 1629—to whotii, after various vicissitudes of fortune' in the wars with Spain and: France, they were ultimately secured by the treaty of 1783. New Providence, is the seat of government, and has recently been ,greatly iinproved both ,and• port. During the American civil war, Nassau became the Station for vessels about to run the blockade of the southern ports, and thence derived unexampled and', so far as agriculture is concerned, the impulse then received hai been maintained by' the Bahamas. •