West Caicos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

West Caicos is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. West Caicos has an area of 11 square miles (28 km²), and has been uninhabited for over a century. The island is home to the 500 acre (2 km²) Lake Catherine, a protected wildlife reserve, filled with pink roseate flamingoes, humpback whales, manta rays, sea turtles and other indigenous wildlife.

Currently, development is underway to construct West Caicos Reserve, an exclusive resort community, complete with a yacht harbour and small airfield.

In the 1890s, West Caicos was cleared for sisal plantations, which was a major crop of the Turks and Caicos Islands. On the island are the ruins of Yankee Town, which was the of centre of industry on the island. Remains of a railroad still exist.

At least two attempts have been made to purchase the entire island. The first was made by Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, his intent was to use it as a hideaway. However, he was assassinated before the purchase was made. In 1972, an oil company tried to purchase the island to build a refinery, and built an airstrip. The deal was not made, and the airstrip remains to this day.

A new effort appears to be well underway to develop the island into a private high-end resort reserve, billing itself as 'West Caicos Reserve'. This effort is apparently targeted toward high net worth individuals, as it is integrated with an exclusive 125 room Ritz-Carlton Resort/Spa and Marina. The anticipated opening of this community is mid-2008.

The West Caicos seawall drops off to over 7,000 feet. Several different sea creatures live in these depths, from eagle rays to humpback whales.