The Baths

The Baths National Park

One of many baths found among scattered volcanic boulders

Location of The Baths in Virgin Islands

Type Natural Area
Location Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
Coordinates 18°25′46″N 64°26′43″W / 18.42937°N 64.445398°W / 18.42937; -64.445398Coordinates: 18°25′46″N 64°26′43″W / 18.42937°N 64.445398°W / 18.42937; -64.445398

The Baths are a beach area on the island of Virgin Gorda among the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.

Geography

The Baths are situated about 1.2 miles (1.9 km) south off the maintown Spanish Town at the southern tip of the island between Spring Bay and Devil's Bay. The Baths are an area of unique geologic formations and one of the BVI's major tourist destinations.

The area

At The Baths, although volcanism accounts for much of the Virgin Islands, we see granite that eroded into piles of boulders on the beach.[1] Granite forms from the slow cooling of magma at depth no where close to surface volcanoes. The granite only appears at the surface after geologic ages have eroded away all the overburden covering it. Once exposed, erosion continued to isolate the granite into large boulders and round their surfaces. The boulders form natural tidal pools, tunnels, arches, and scenic grottoes that are open to the sea.[2] The largest boulders are about 40 feet (12 m) long.

Since 1990, the area has been a BVI National Park [3] as are the adjacent bays,[4] and the area is a major tourist attraction, with swimming and snorkelling being the main attractions.

Gallery

Notes

  1. ↑ Excerpt from The Baths by Julian Putley
  2. ↑ The Baths, Virgin Gorda – Ultimate BVI – British Virgin Islands
  3. ↑ Welcome to the BVI National Parks Trust – Parks – Virgin Gorda 2
  4. ↑ National Parks | British Virgin Islands | Caribbean Destination | BVI

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.