Providenciales

Providenciales, a main island of the Caicos group in the Turks and Caicos Islands, northwestern West Indies, between West Caicos and North Caicos islands. The limestone island comes to a narrow waist at Grace Bay, flaring to a breadth of approximately 5 miles (8 km) at the western end and 2 miles (3 km) at the eastern end. A group of three small cays, including Little Water Cay (Iguana Island), lies just off the eastern tip across a channel known as the Leeward-Going-Through-Cut. The main locality, Providenciales, located in the middle of the island, is mainly a service and administrative centre rather than an area of concentrated population.

The island’s highest elevation, and the highest point in the Turks and Caicos, is a peak of 163 feet (50 metres) in the Blue Hills region of the north-central part of the island. Salt ponds and inland marshes attract migratory birds. A dozen small cays are protected as seabird breeding grounds as part of the national parks system.

Providenciales was largely undeveloped until the 1990s, at which time its population was just under 5,000. Following the opening of the island’s first resort hotel in 1990, a development boom took place, and over the next decade the tourist sector burgeoned. Migrant workers from around the Caribbean flocked in by the thousands, seeking employment, and many new residents, notably retirees, arrived from throughout the world. By the end of the 20th century Providenciales had become the population centre and most developed island of the Turks and Caicos. The island’s western region, however, remained relatively rugged and wild.

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The commercial port of South Dock, east of Sapodilla Bay in the south, accommodates large yachts and container ships. To the west of Providenciales locality is Providenciales International Airport, the main point of entry for the Turks and Caicos. Two other significant areas of settlement are Blue Hills and The Bight, which is in the east-central part of the island. Besides tourism, fishing is a major contributor to the island’s economy. The Caicos Bank, a shallow sea studded with coral reefs just south of the island, abounds with conch and lobster.

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The coastline is dotted with marinas, and white sand beaches and facilities for sport fishing and aquatic recreation are found all along the island’s coast. However, those activities are concentrated along the northern shore, notably on Grace Bay, whose 12-mile- (19-km-) long beach is protected by a barrier reef. Princess Alexandra National Park, a marine preserve, includes the reef and encompasses two of the small cays off the northeastern tip of the island; the park’s waters are home to bottlenose dolphins. Another national park encompasses Chalk Sound, a 3-mile- (5-km-) long bay in the southwest whose uniformly turquoise waters contain numerous tiny islets. Northwest Point National Park protects a strip of sea off the northwest coast and includes reefs and breeding grounds for seabirds as well as the pristine and undeveloped Malcolm Roads Beach. Of historical interest are a large number of engravings made on exposed limestone by shipwrecked sailors in the hills near Sapodilla Bay to memorialize the names of their ships. Near Discovery Bay are the ruins of settlers’ homes, including Cheshire Hall, a cotton plantation built by an English settler in the early 19th century. Providenciales has a branch of Turks and Caicos Islands Community College. Area 38 square miles (98 square km). Pop. (2012) including West Caicos, 23,769.