Bajo Nuevo Bank, also known as the Petrel Islands (Spanish: Bajo Nuevo, Islas Petrel), is a small, uninhabited reef with some small islets, covered with grass, located in the western Caribbean Sea at 15°53′N 78°38′W / 15.883°N 78.633°W / 15.883; -78.633Coordinates: 15°53′N 78°38′W / 15.883°N 78.633°W / 15.883; -78.633, with a lighthouse on Low Cay at 15°51′N 78°38′W / 15.85°N 78.633°W / 15.85; -78.633. The closest neighbouring land feature is Serranilla Bank, located 110 kilometres (68 miles) to the west.
The reef was first shown on Dutch maps dating to 1634 but was given its present name in 1654. Bajo Nuevo was rediscovered by the English pirate John Glover in 1660. Although the bank is currently controlled by Colombia, it is subject to a sovereignty dispute involving Jamaica, Nicaragua and the United States.
Read more about Bajo Nuevo Bank: Geography, Territorial Dispute
Famous quotes containing the word bank:
“I have passed down the river before sunrise on a summer morning, between fields of lilies still shut in sleep; and when, at length, the flakes of sunlight from over the bank fell on the surface of the water, whole fields of white blossoms seemed to flash open before me, as I floated along, like the unfolding of a banner, so sensible is this flower to the influence of the sun’s rays.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)