Geography of Bermuda
Encyclopedia
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
.
Location
Bermuda (officially, The Bermuda Islands or The Somers Isles) is an overseas territoryBritish overseas territories
The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories of the United Kingdom which, although they do not form part of the United Kingdom itself, fall under its jurisdiction. They are remnants of the British Empire that have not acquired independence or have voted to remain British territories...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the North Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. Located off the east coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, it is situated around 1770 km (1,099.8 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and 1350 km (838.9 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. The nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, about 1030 km (640 mi) west-northwest (see Geography section below). It is nearly antipodal
Antipodes
In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....
to Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. Although commonly referred to in the singular (i.e., The Island, The Rock, and Bermuda), the territory consists of approximately 138 island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s, with a total area of 71.7 km² (27.7 sq mi). Compiling a list of these islands is often complicated, as many have more than one name (as does the entire archipelago, which, in addition to its two official names, has historically been known as "La Garza", "Virgineola", and the "Isle of Devils"). Despite the limited land mass, there has also been a tendency for place names to be repeated; there are, for instance, two islands named "Long Island", three bays known as "Long Bay" and the town of St. George is located within the parish of St. George on the island of St. George (each known as St. George's), whereas Bermuda's capital, the City of Hamilton
Hamilton, Bermuda
Hamilton is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination.-Geography:...
, lies in Pembroke Parish
Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Pembroke Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named after English aristocrat William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke ....
, not Hamilton Parish
Hamilton Parish, Bermuda
Hamilton Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It was renamed for Scottish aristocrat James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton when he purchased the shares originally held in the Virginia Company by Lucy, Countess of Bedford.It is located in the northwest of the island chain, and is...
, on the largest island, "Main Island", which itself is sometimes called "Bermuda" (or "Great Bermuda").
Formation and geology
Seen from above the ocean's surface, the general characteristic or the islands is that of ridges, running from the North East to the South West, before turning towards the North. Together with the submerged, encircling reef, they form the edge of a volcanic calderaCaldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
, to the south of which the islands lie. The islands enclose a smaller caldera, which forms the Great Sound
Great Sound, Bermuda
The Great Sound is a body of water shaped by the islands of Bermuda. It dominates the southwest of the island chain, and forms a natural harbour. It is surrounded on all sides by the islands, except for the northeast, where it is open to the Atlantic Ocean....
, and another forms Harrington Sound. The volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
was formed on the fault line from which the Atlantic oceanic tectonic plates expand, pushing the Old and New Worlds away from each other. It has been theorised that the volcanoes were formed by the Bermuda hotspot
Bermuda hotspot
The Bermuda hotspot is the supposed "hotspot" proposed to explain the Bermuda Rise , and also...
, if that existed. A submarine volcanic mountain range, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. It separates the Eurasian Plate and North American Plate in the North Atlantic, and the African Plate from the South...
was formed atop this fault. Bermuda now sits far to the west of the ridge in foothills that once were the ridge.
This is because it is far older than other islands formed on the ridge, which lie much closer to the ridge (including Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, The Azores, Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
, etc.). There are also two seamounts to the South-West of Bermuda, forming Argus Banks, and Challenger Banks. Neither of these breaks the surface of the ocean, but both support coral reefs and are popular fishing grounds. Although the volcanic base of Bermuda is igneous
Igneous rock
Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
, it is covered by a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cap, formed by calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
-secreting marine organisms. This formed underwater, but, during ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
s, when sea levels were lower, the limestone broke down into sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
. This blew into dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s in which the sand eventually fused back together to form an aeolian sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
. Underwater, coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
is present in the reefline which encompasses the archipelago. To the south, the reef line lies within a matter of yards from the shoreline. At its northward extremity, the reef lies fourteen miles (21 km) from the north shore.
Corals reefs, which protect the soft, limestone coastlines from wave-erosion, are protected by law. The island is thinly-covered by a red soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
, high in iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, but low in magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
. Yellowish leaf colour of plants in many areas of the island is a result of the low levels of magnesium, which is used in producing chlorophyll
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
. Due to the lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
content of the stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
on which it sits, the soil is also very alkaline. In most parts of Bermuda, the soil is rarely more than a few inches deep, though, in some low-lying, inland areas it has collected quite deeply. At one point, the land mass
Landmass
A landmass is a contiguous area of land surrounded by ocean. Although it may be most often written as one word to distinguish it from the usage "land mass"—the measure of land area—it is also used as two words.Landmasses include:*supercontinents...
of Bermuda was about 200 square miles (518 km²), large enough to allow the genetic diversity for many plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s and animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s that established themselves to develop into unique species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
and sub-species
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
. Because the limestone cap is porous, rainwater quickly sinks through it and there are no permanent streams, or standing bodies of freshwater. A well sunk anywhere in Bermuda will find water as soon as it reaches sea level (the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
). Unfortunately, this water is brackish, since the rainwater filtering down from above mixes with sea water from below. Due to the high porosity of the limestone, there are few available freshwater lenses that are fully unmixed with salt water.
Despite the apparent lack of fresh groundwater, Bermuda is lush and green, a result of the consistent, high levels of rainfall. Bermuda's human inhabitants traditionally collect water from the roofs of their houses, and hillsides surfaced as catchments, the water being stored in tanks dug into the ground, often in the foundations of houses. In recent decades it was discovered that rain water, being less dense due to its lack of salinity, sits on top of the water table and mixes slowly. This lens can be siphoned off by wells and used for drinking. A private company, Watlington Waterworks, uses this method to obtain water which is provided to its customers by a system of mains
Water supply network
A water supply system or water supply network is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components which provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes:# A drainage basin ;...
. Most of the native and endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
arrived via natural dispersion
Biological dispersal
Biological dispersal refers to species movement away from an existing population or away from the parent organism. Through simply moving from one habitat patch to another, the dispersal of an individual has consequences not only for individual fitness, but also for population dynamics, population...
from North America. Most notable of these was the juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
which evolved into the Bermuda cedar.
Native terrestrial ecology
Short-tailed Albatross
The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross, Phoebastria albatrus, is a large rare seabird from the North Pacific. Although related to the other North Pacific albatrosses, it also exhibits behavioural and morphological links to the albatrosses of the Southern Ocean...
, a species which occurs today only in the northern Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Flora
Of 165 plant species found in Bermuda today, 14 are endemic (others are native), and 25 are endangered. When discovered, about 1503, the island's habitat was dominated by the remnant, old-growthOld growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...
forest of Bermuda Juniper (Juniperus bermudiana
Juniperus bermudiana
Juniperus bermudiana is a species of juniper endemic to Bermuda. This species is most commonly known as Bermuda cedar although, like most "cedars" it is not a true cedar ; a more botanically accurate name would be Bermuda juniper, but this term is extremely rare.It is an evergreen tree growing up...
). Underwater archaeology of the caldera basin to the north shows that the area was once densely forested with junipers when it was above sea level. The juniper is an endemic species, though related to species found in North America. Its wood is an unusually deep red, indicative of the high iron content of the island's soil (which is similarly very red). Prior to human settlement, there were several million juniper trees in Bermuda. By the 1830s, large areas of Bermuda had been denuded by the shipbuilding industry. As that industry died-out in the 19th century, however, the junipers rapidly recovered their numbers. By 1900, when the human population neared 20,000, the islands were again covered densely with juniper, although many of these were juvenile trees. The respite proved temporary, however. In the 1940s, it was realised that two species of scale insect
Scale insect
The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects.-Ecology:...
, Lepidosaphes newsteadi and Carulaspis minima, had accidentally been introduced, and were rapidly killing off the junipers, which had no immunity to their toxicological effect. Attempts were made to control the infestation naturally, which involved the large-scale introduction of ladybird beetles
Coccinellidae
Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds , or ladybugs . Scientists increasingly prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as these insects are not true bugs...
(Coccinellidae), but these were to no avail. Over the next decade, roughly 8 million juniper trees were lost to the scales. Motor cars were legalised in Bermuda in 1948, as a result of changes wrought by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the resultant sprawl of the rapidly-growing population (which had reached 60,000 by the 1980s) outward from the pre-war population centres happened simultaneously with the destruction of the forests. Unlike in the 19th century, many plant species that had been introduced, some, like the Casuarina
Casuarina
Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...
, specifically to replace the windbreak
Windbreak
A windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. If designed properly, windbreaks around a...
lost with the juniper, spread virulently. The juniper grows slowly by comparison to many of the introduced species, and has been unable to thrive in the presence of Casuarina and Brazilian pepper
Brazilian pepper
Schinus terebinthifolius is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to subtropical and tropical South America...
trees. Efforts to restore it centre around intensively managed land areas, such as gardens and golf courses. Other large plant species, which were never as numerous as the juniper, had also fared poorly in the presence of invasive species, but have become popular with gardeners and their numbers also have increased in managed areas. These include two native species, the Bermuda Olivewood (Elaeodendron laneanum
Elaeodendron laneanum
Cassine laneana, commonly known as the Bermuda Olivewood, is a species of large tree in the staff vine family, Celastraceae, that is endemic to the islands of Bermuda. Although once found in the extensive subtropical coniferous forests that covered the islands, it is currently restricted to small...
), and the Bermuda Palmetto (Sabal bermudana
Sabal bermudana
Sabal bermudana, commonly known as the Bermuda Palmetto or Bibby-tree, is one of 15 species of palm trees in the genus Sabal and is endemic to Bermuda...
), the only native or endemic palm. In some coastal areas and inland marshes, Bermuda is the most northerly point at which mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
trees are found. Smaller plants include many fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s. Notable among these is the rare Bermuda Cave Fern (Ctenitis
Ctenitis
Ctenitis is a genus of large ferns in the Dryopteridaceae.-References:*World species list for Ctenitis: http://homepages.caverock.net.nz/~bj/fern/ctenitis.htm...
sloanei). An even rarer fern, Diplazium
Diplazium
Diplazium is a genus of the cliff fern family that specifically includes the approximately 400 known species of twinsorus ferns. The Greek root is diplazein meaning double: the indusia in this genus lie on both sides of the vein...
laffanianum, no longer survives in the wild. Another native plant is the Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bermudianum). This was thought to be endemic, but also appears in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Many of the smaller endemic and native plants of Bermuda are rare and endangered, but others have survived and prospered. The common Bermuda grass
Cynodon
Cynodon is a genus of nine species of grasses, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World. The genus as a whole as well as its species are commonly known as Bermuda Grass or Dog's Tooth Grass.-Species:...
is not actually Bermudian, but a Mediterranean import.
Fauna
There were few species of land animal in Bermuda before the arrival of humans. The only vertebrate species was the Bermuda skinkBermuda Rock Skink
The Bermuda Rock Skink or Rock Lizard is the only endemic terrestrial vertebrate animal of the Bermudas...
, or rock lizard (Eumeces longirostris). These were quite numerous, but have become rare due to predation by introduced species, and, especially, the introduction of glass bottles, in which they easily become trapped. Unlike the introduced anoles
Polychrotidae
Polychrotidae is a family of lizards commonly known as anoles . NCBI places the anole in subfamily Polychrotinae of the family Iguanidae. Four genera are common: Anolis, Norops, Phenacosaurus, and Polychrus....
, their feet are unable to adhere to glass. Their range had been largely reduced to small islands of Castle Harbour
Castle Harbour, Bermuda
Castle Harbour is a large natural harbour in Bermuda. It is located between the northeastern end of the main island and St. David's Island. Originally called Southampton Port, it was renamed as a result of its heavy fortification in the early decades of the Seventeenth century.-Geography:A gem of...
, but they have re-colonised the mainland, and their numbers are increasing. The only other large land animals found on the island were crustaceans, notably two species of land crab, including the rare Giant Land Crab (Cardisoma quantami). Insects included the endemic, ground-burrowing Solitary Bee, which has not been observed for several decades and is believed extinct. The native cicada
Cicada
A cicada is an insect of the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha , in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with large eyes wide apart on the head and usually transparent, well-veined wings. There are about 2,500 species of cicada around the world, and many of them remain unclassified...
also became extinct with the loss of the juniper forest. Other native insects survive, including the migratory Monarch butterfly
Monarch butterfly
The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly , in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer...
(Danaus plexippus), which has become threatened due to the loss of milkweed
Asclepias
Asclepias L. , the milkweeds, is a genus of herbaceous perennial, dicotyledonous plants that contains over 140 known species...
, which has been eradicated as a weed. The most numerous animals were, and are, birds. Several native species are related to North American species, including the Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards, and most recently can be spotted in suburban areas. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York....
(Sialia sialis), and the White-eyed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
The White-eyed Vireo, Vireo griseus, is a small songbird. It breeds in the southeastern USA from New Jersey west to northern Missouri and south to Texas and Florida, and also in eastern Mexico, northern Central America, Cuba and the Bahamas....
(Vireo griseus bermudianus). Both of these were common, but have suffered from loss of habitat, from competition for nest sites with introduced House Sparrow
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...
s (Passer domesticus), and nest-predation by European Starling
European Starling
The Common Starling , also known as the European Starling or just Starling, is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...
s (Sturnus vulgaris) and Great Kiskadee
Great Kiskadee
The Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus, is a passerine bird. It is a large tyrant flycatcher; sometimes its genus Pitangus is considered monotypic, with the Lesser Kiskadee The Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus, is a passerine bird. It is a large tyrant flycatcher; sometimes its genus Pitangus...
s (Pitangus sulphuratus) - this last species was deliberately introduced as late as 1957, with the intent that it would control the previously introduced anoles. Other native birds, including the Gray Catbird
Gray Catbird
The Gray Catbird , also spelled Grey Catbird, is a medium-sized northern American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the "catbird" genus Dumetella...
, have suffered from the same causes. The most famous Bermudian bird is the endemic Bermuda Petrel
Bermuda Petrel
The Bermuda Petrel, Pterodroma cahow, is a gadfly petrel. Commonly known in Bermuda as the Cahow, a name derived from its eerie cries, this nocturnal ground-nesting seabird is the national bird of Bermuda, and a symbol of hope for nature conservation. It was thought extinct for 330 years...
(Pterodroma cahow), or Cahow. This is a pelagic seabird which had dug burrows for its nests. Humans are believed to have killed millions of them after settlement began in 1609, and feral pigs, introduced presumably by Spaniards decades before, also attacked their nests. Before the 17th Century was over, the Cahow was believed to be extinct. After sightings of the bird at sea, a young Bermudian, David B. Wingate
David B. Wingate
Dr David Balcombe Wingate OBE, born October 11, 1935, is an ornithologist, naturalist and conservationist. He was born in Bermuda.In 1951 he helped Robert Cushman Murphy and Louis S...
, theorised Cahows might still be nesting on rocky islets of Castle Harbour. He visited these islets with ornithologists Robert Cushman Murphy
Robert Cushman Murphy
Robert Cushman Murphy was an American ornithologist and former Lamont curator of birds for the American Museum of Natural History....
and Louis S. Mowbray in 1951 and discovered a handful of nesting pairs. Under Wingate's supervision, a conservation programme has steadily increased the Cahow's numbers. Species that arrived by natural dispersion and become native after human settlement include the Barn Owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
(Tyto alba), and the Mourning Dove
Mourning Dove
The Mourning Dove is a member of the dove family . The bird is also called the Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds...
(Zenaida macroura).
Introduced flora and fauna
Since discovery by humans, numerous species have been introduced to the island, some deliberately, like the casurina, the feral pig, the CardinalNorthern Cardinal
The Northern Cardinal or Redbird or Common Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico...
(Cardinalis cardinalis), anoles, ladybird beetles, and the Kiskadee, some incidentally, like the Norwegian rat
Brown Rat
The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....
(Rattus norvegicus) and the Black Rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
(Rattus rattus), and the others accidentally, like the scale mites, and the brown widow spider
Latrodectus geometricus
The spider Latrodectus geometricus, commonly known as the brown widow, grey widow, or geometric button spider, is one of the widow spiders in the genus Latrodectus. As such, it is a "cousin" to the more famous Latrodectus mactans...
(Latrodectus geometricus). Other imported species include the cane toad
Cane Toad
The Cane Toad , also known as the Giant Neotropical Toad or Marine Toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad which is native to Central and South America, but has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania and the Caribbean...
(Bufo marinus), and tree frogs.
In addition to casurinas, numerous other species of tree, bush, shrub, cacti, palm, and other grasses have been introduced, with many of them proving to be invasive species. Despite the decimation of the cedar, those parts of the island not covered in buildings and tarmac are now densely covered in trees and shrubbery, including allspice
Allspice
Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
(Pimenta dioica ), fiddlewood, Norfolk Island pine
Araucaria heterophylla
Araucaria heterophylla is a distinctive conifer, a member of the ancient and now disjointly distributed family Araucariaceae. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island Pine implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, a small island in the Pacific Ocean between Australia, New Zealand and New...
(Araucaria heterophylla), bay grape
Coccoloba uvifera
Coccoloba uvifera is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, that is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida, the Bahamas, Barbados and Bermuda...
(Coccoloba uvifera), Surinam cherry
Surinam Cherry
The Surinam Cherry, Brazilian Cherry, or Cayenne Cherry is a plant in the family Myrtaceae, native to tropical America. Known as Pitanga throughout Brazil or Ñangapirí in surrounding countries, it is a large shrub or small tree with a conical form, growing slowly to 8 meters in height...
(Eugenia uniflora), poinciana
Royal Poinciana
Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant from the Fabaceae family, Caesalpinioideae subfamilia, noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of flowers. In many tropical parts of countries around the world it is grown as an ornamental tree and in English it is given the name Royal...
(Delonix regia) , fan palms
Washingtonia
Washingtonia is a genus of palms, native to the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico...
, coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), royal palm
Roystonea
Roystonea is a genus of eleven species of monoecious palms, native to the Caribbean Islands, and the adjacent coasts of Florida, Central and South America. Commonly known as the royal palms, the genus was named for Roy Stone, a U.S. Army engineer...
(Roystonea), pittusporum
Pittosporum
Pittosporum is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa. Citriobatus is usually included here, but might be a distinct genus...
, Natal plum
Carissa
Carissa is a genus of about 20-30 species of shrubs or small trees native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and Asia....
, loquat
Loquat
The loquat , Eriobotrya japonica, is a fruit tree in the family Rosaceae, indigenous to southeastern China. It was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus, and is still sometimes known as the Japanese medlar...
(Eriobotrya japonica), oleander
Oleander
Nerium oleander is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, toxic in all its parts. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium. It is most commonly known as oleander, from its superficial resemblance to the unrelated olive Olea, but has many other...
(Nerium oleander), and hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
. Most of the introduced species have proved to be unequal to Bermuda's frequently fierce weather. A succession of winter storms and a few powerful hurricanes that have struck over the last two decades have reduced woodlands, and available nest sites for small birds. The number of large trees, particularly, has been reduced. Although cedars are adapted to the local climate, and not so affected by stormy weather, rising sea levels are beginning to inundate the roots of old-growth
Old growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...
cedars near low-lying marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
lands, causing many to die.
Many domestic animal species have been introduced, including dogs, horses, goats, sheep, chickens, and cats, with cats long having established a large feral population. Feral chickens
Feral chickens
Feral chickens are derived from domestic chickens that have returned to the wild. Like the Red Junglefowl , feral chickens will take flight and roost in tall trees and bushes in order to avoid predators at night.Feral chickens, like the wild Red Junglefowl, typically form social groups composed of...
have recently become numerous (since the government ended its policy of allowing members of the local shotgun club to shoot them), and feral rabbits can also be found. Populations of feral guinea pigs have been established and then eradicated. Feral pigs were hunted to extinction centuries ago. Today, introduced feral species, particularly cats, are blamed for falling numbers of native birds, from bluebirds to longtails, but the primary threats are loss of habitat, due now to overdevelopment, and climate change (rising sea levels, increased hurricane activity, and rising temperatures are all having an effect on Cahow nests, particularly).
Climate
Middle latitudes
The middle latitudes are between 23°26'22" North and 66°33'39" North, and between 23°26'22" South and 66°33'39" South latitude, or, the Earth's temperate zones between the tropics and the Arctic and Antarctic. The prevailing winds in the middle latitudes are often very strong...
, or Temperate Zone
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
. The warm temperate, or subtropical (the term favoured by the tourism industry, although Bermuda's weather is not actually characteristic of the Subtropics
Subtropics
The subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...
, any more than of the tropics-the subtropics is not so much a geographical area as a collective term for areas with subtropical climates. Bermuda's climate is more truthfully described as Warm Temperate or Oceanic
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
), weather is influenced by the Arctic air mass
Air mass
In meteorology, an air mass is a volume of air defined by its temperature and water vapor content. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adopt the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to latitude and their continental or maritime...
, the Westerlies
Westerlies
The Westerlies, anti-trades, or Prevailing Westerlies, are the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, blowing from the high pressure area in the horse latitudes towards the poles. These prevailing winds blow from the west to the east, and steer extratropical...
, and the Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
. Bermuda has a very humid climate and, as a result, the summer-time heat index
Heat index
The heat index is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity in an attempt to determine the human-perceived equivalent temperature — how hot it feels, termed the felt air temperature. The human body normally cools itself by perspiration, or sweating, which evaporates and carries...
can be very high, even when the actual temperature seems moderate. In fact, the highs reached even during summer days are usually as much as 10 F-change to 20 F-change lower than in areas farther to the north, including New York, Chicago, and areas of Alaska. Winter temperatures can be very chilly, and the powerful winds and heavy rain mean that the felt temperature
Felt air temperature
Felt air temperature is a quantitative measure that indicates the amount of heat the human body loses outdoors in a given time and place....
can fall below freezing, even though the actual temperature may rarely drop much below 10 °C (50 °F). There has been a general warming trend observed, however, since the late 1980s. Freezing weather has not been recorded since the 19th Century, although hail is common in the winter.
Of the two dominating, and counter-acting weather effects over Bermuda, one may be termed regional, whereas the other is localised. The first of these results from the regular separation of large volumes of the Arctic air mass over the Canadian plains. With the prevailing wind
Prevailing winds
Prevailing winds are winds that blow predominantly from a single general direction over a particular point on Earth's surface. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on the Earth's surface. A region's prevailing and dominant winds...
direction in the Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
being from the West, this cold, dry air sweeps east, and southward across the Eastern half of the United States, before crossing over the Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
to reach Bermuda (hence Bermudians usually obtain a two-or-three day warning of the approach of bad weather by watching the weather reports of the Atlantic Seaboard
Atlantic Seaboard
The Atlantic seaboard watershed is a watershed of North America along both*the Atlantic Canada coast south of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence Watershed &*the East Coast of the United States north of the watershed of the Okeechobee Waterway....
). From September through June, and especially during the winter and spring, the cold front
Cold front
A cold front is defined as the leading edge of a cooler mass of air, replacing a warmer mass of air.-Development of cold front:The cooler and denser air wedges under the less-dense warmer air, lifting it...
s of these advancing air masses sweep powerfully across Bermuda, preceded by two or three days of progressively stormier, wetter, and more overcast weather. Once the Fronts pass, they leave cold, dry air, and clear skies behind them. The localised effect known as the Bermuda High, warm, high-pressure air, fuelled by the heat of the Gulf Stream, rebuilds its strength for a few days before the advance of the next front causes progressively worsening weather. During the summer months, the Arctic air mass contracts, and its boundary moves north, resulting in weaker cold fronts that move more slowly, countered by a Bermuda High strengthened by the summer heat. The cold fronts are therefore further apart, and their effect less noticeable in Bermuda, although the weather can be very stormy even during relatively sunny summer days. Although the heavy, sustained rainfall associated with these fronts is largely absent during the summer, the relative humidity nears 100%, and dense, moving squalls frequently drop great quantities of water. It is not uncommon, during the summer, to ride on sunbaked roads, then round a corner to come suddenly on drenched and steaming tarmac where a squall has passed only minutes earlier. Consequently, although there is somewhat less rainfall during the summer months, Bermuda's rainfall remains relatively consistent throughout the year. The winter rainfall is most important, however, as, due to the lack of groundwater, this is the period when the islands' vegetation is able to store greater quantities of rainfall.
Bermuda's humidity moderates the extremes of temperatures reached (through the day, and through the year), with the difference between daily highs and low remaining fairly consistently about ten degrees Fahrenheit (although the arrival of a cold front can cause a more extreme temperature drop). The humidity also slows the rate at which the air gains and loses heat. The result is that, while Bermuda is generally warmer than the US North-East in Autumn and Winter, it is generally cooler in Spring and Summer, with temperatures reaching into the eighties in New York, or Chicago in late spring while Bermuda's temperature typically remains doggedly in the upper sixties, or low seventies. There is a distinct shift to summer weather, however, which usually occurs about the middle of June, and an almost as distinct shift back between late September and early October.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 23 |
The early colony
London Company
The London Company was an English joint stock company established by royal charter by James I of England on April 10, 1606 with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.The territory granted to the London Company included the coast of North America from the 34th parallel ...
, then by its spin-off, the Somers Isles Company
Somers Isles Company
The Somers Isles Company was formed in 1615 to operate the English colony of the Somers Isles, also known as Bermuda, as a commercial venture. It held a royal charter for Bermuda until 1684, when it was dissolved, and the Crown assumed responsibility for the administration of Bermuda as a royal...
, Bermuda was divided into nine equally-sized administrative areas. These comprised one public territory (known as St. George's) and eight "tribes" (soon retitled as "parishes"). These "tribes" were subdivided into lots, separated by narrow tribe roads (supposedly created by clearing the path of a barrel rolled from the south to north shores). These roads served both to demark the boundaries of lots, and also as access routes to the shoreline, as the primary method of transport about Bermuda would remain by boat for the next three centuries. Each of the lots equated to shares in the company. Each of the tribes was named for a major "adventurer" (shareholder) of the Company. Most were nobles, who used the toponyms
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
of their titles, hence most of the parishes bear place names from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, or Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
: Devonshire (for William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire was an English politician and courtier.-Life:The second son of Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick, he was educated with the children of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, whom his mother married after his father's death. She made him a rich...
(1552–1626)), Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...
(for James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton
James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton
James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton and 4th Earl of Arran KG PC , styled Lord Aven from 1599 to 1604, was a Scottish politician. He was the son of John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton....
(1589–1625)), Pembroke (for William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, KG, PC was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his third wife Mary Sidney. Chancellor of the University of Oxford, he founded Pembroke College, Oxford with King James. He was warden of the Forest of Dean, and constable of St Briavels from 1608...
(1580–1630)), Southampton (for Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
Henry Wriothesley , 3rd Earl of Southampton , was the second son of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, and his wife Mary Browne, Countess of Southampton, daughter of the 1st Viscount Montagu...
(1573–1624)), and Warwick (for Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and puritan.Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title in 1619...
(1587–1658) ). The others are Paget (for William Paget, 4th Baron Paget de Beaudesert
William Paget, 4th Baron Paget de Beaudesert
William Paget, 4th Baron Paget of Beaudesert was an English peer and colonist born in Beaudesert House, Staffordshire, England to Thomas Paget, 3rd Baron Paget and Nazareth Newton. He was a descendent of William Paget, 1st Baron Paget. William's father had been stripped of his title after fleeing...
(1572–1629)), Sandys (for Sir Edwin Sandys
Edwin Sandys (American colonist)
Sir Edwin Sandys was an English politician, a leading figure in the parliaments of James I of England. He was also one of the founders of the proprietary Virginia Company of London, which in 1607 established the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States in the colony of...
(1561–1629)), and Smith's (for Sir Thomas Smith (1588–1625)). Hamilton Parish was originally named Bedford, after Lucy, Countess of Bedford, who sold her shares to the Scottish nobleman, James Hamilton. Devonshire Parish had originally been named Cavendish Tribe. The short-lived use of the word "tribes" for administrative regions appears to have been unique to the Bermuda example. The ninth parish was common (or King's, or general) land, not subdivided by tribe roads, and was named for the Patron Saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of England, Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
. It includes the island and the town both of the same name.
- Subdivisions of BermudaSubdivisions of Bermuda||The land area of Bermuda is divided into nine parishes. There are also two defined municipalities, located in the boundaries of two of the parishes.-Parishes:...
- Islands of BermudaIslands of BermudaThe following is an alphabetical list of the islands of the British Overseas Territory of the Bermuda Islands:-Bermuda Islands:*Agar's Island*Alpha Island*Banjo Island*Bartlett's Island*Bartram Island*Bay Island...
- Flora and fauna in BermudaFlora and fauna in BermudaThe flora and fauna of Bermuda forms part of a unique ecosystem thanks to Bermuda's isolation from the mainland of North America. There are a wide range of endemic species and the islands form a distinct ecoregion, the Bermuda subtropical conifer forests....
Statistics
Maritime claims:- Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
- Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
Land use:
- Arable land: 20%
- Permanent crops: 0%
- Other: 80% (55% developed, 45% rural/open space) (2005)
Natural hazards:
- HurricanesTropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
(June to November), Winter Storms and Gales (November to June)
Environment - current issues:
- sustainable development
Much of the data in this article is adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2009.
Further reading
- J. Wreford Watson, J. Oliver, C. H. Foggo, A Geography of Bermuda (Collins, London, 1965)
External links
- Bermuda Weather Service: Weather Forecast Online
- Bermuda Harbour Radio Live webcam at Fort George, overlooking St. George's Harbour
- Quaternary Stratigraphy of Bermuda: A High-Resolution Pre-Sangamonian Rock Record (Pdf)
- Atlantic Ocean Volcanism, OIBs, Tholeiites and Basanites
- Amity Region: Germuda Geology
- JSTOR: Quaternary Vegetation Change and Dune Formation on Bermuda: A Discussion
- Dalhousie University. Ph. D. Thesis, Emmanuelle Javaux: Benthic Foraminifera from the Modern Sediments of Bermuda: Implications for Holocene Sea-Level Studies
- Bermuda Geography from Bermuda-Island.net, with antique maps
- Bermuda4u.com - Interactive Map of Bermuda and all its parishes.
- Birds of Bermuda