Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Eleuthera Island at the junction of the sea with the ocean
23-02-2013, 22:07
Of the huge number of islands in the Bahamas, there is a long and very narrow island of Eleuthera, whose name literally means "free". This strip of land is located 80 kilometers in eastbound from the capital of the Bahamas - Nassau. With a width of 1.6 kilometers, its length is 180 kilometers. On one side of the island, blue waters flow caribbean, and on the other is the water area Atlantic Ocean a pronounced dark blue color, which creates a surprisingly beautiful contrast around the island.
The Glass Window Bridge is one of the best and convenient places to behold this extraordinary spectacle. The structure is located at the narrowest point of Eleuthera near Gregory Town, approximately two miles from Upper Bogue. There are only a few places on Earth where you can compare the turquoise-green waters of the shallow and calm Caribbean Sea on one side and the open waters of the Atlantic, rich in underwater life, on the other hand, which are separated only by a narrow strip of land.
The concrete bridge here was built over a natural mountain bridge that connects the southern and northern Eleutheres with a paved road.
Perhaps one of the most visited attractions on the island is the Glass Window Bridge.
For centuries, there was a natural connection between the southern and northern halves of Eleuthera. Around the 40s of the last century, the isthmus collapsed due to several hurricanes, and then it was decided to build a concrete bridge here as a replacement. The man-made structure has been maintained with regular maintenance work, keeping the Glass Window Bridge in good condition. However, hurricanes in 1992 and 1999 again caused significant damage to the bridge. Hurricane Floyd caused especially severe damage, as a result of which almost nothing remained of the original structure. The bridge was, of course, rebuilt again within a few months and the Queen's Highway reconnected, but the geography of Eleuthera changed forever. Although more than a decade has passed since this large-scale incident, workers are still working here to strengthen the coast of the island in order to completely lay the asphalt, which was once completely destroyed.
It should be noted that when visiting Glass Window, however, as well as the surrounding areas, you need to be careful and careful, because the waves arrive here unexpectedly and can completely cover the nearby cliffs and the bridge itself too. After the hurricanes on the island, there were no reefs left along the ocean coast that previously held back the onslaught and power sea waves and ocean currents that can strike with incredible force. To date, there are cases when not only tourists, but even cars were washed away from the island.
Not such a rare phenomenon is the visible boundary between communicating bodies of water: two seas, a sea and an ocean, a river and a tributary, etc. And yet, it always looks so unusual that you involuntarily wonder: why do their waters not mix?
1. North Sea and Baltic Sea
The meeting point of the North Sea and Baltic Sea near Skagen, Denmark. Water does not mix due to different densities.
2. Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean
3. Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean
The meeting point of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Antilles.
The meeting point of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean on Eleuthera Island, Bahamas. On the left is the Caribbean Sea (turquoise water), on the right is the Atlantic Ocean (blue water).
4. The Suriname River and the Atlantic Ocean
The meeting point of the Suriname River and the Atlantic Ocean in South America.
5. Uruguay River and its tributary
The confluence of the Uruguay River and its tributary in the province of Misiones, Argentina. One of them is cleared for the needs of agriculture, the other in the rainy season becomes almost red with clay.
6. Rio Negro and Solimões (section of the Amazon)
7. Mosel and Rhine
The confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers in the city of Koblenz, Germany. Rhine - lighter, Moselle - darker.
8. Ilz, Danube and Inn
The confluence of the three rivers Ilz, Danube and Inn in Passau, Germany. Ilts is a small mountain river (in the 3rd photo in the lower left corner), the Danube is in the middle and the Inn is light in color. The Inn, although wider and fuller than the Danube at the confluence, is considered a tributary.
9. Alaknanda and Bhagirathi
The confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers in Devaprayag, India. Alaknanda is dark, Bhagirathi is light.
10. Irtysh and Ulba
The confluence of the Irtysh and Ulba rivers in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan. The Irtysh is clean, the Ulba is muddy.
11. Jialing and Yangtze
The confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze rivers in Chongqing, China. The Jialing River stretches for 119 km. In the city of Chongqing, it flows into the Yangtze River. The clear waters of Jialing meet the brown waters of the Yangtze.
12. Irtysh and Om
The confluence of the Irtysh and Om rivers in Omsk, Russia. Irtysh - muddy, Om - transparent.
13. Irtysh and Tobol
The confluence of the Irtysh and Tobol rivers near Tobolsk, Tyumen region, Russia. Irtysh - light, cloudy, Tobol - dark, transparent.
14. Chuya and Katun
The confluence of the Chuya and Katun rivers in the Ongudaysky district of the Altai Republic, Russia. The Chuya water in this place (after confluence with the Chaganuzun River) acquires an unusual cloudy white lead color and seems dense and dense. Katun is clean and turquoise. Combining together, they form a single two-color stream with a clear boundary and flow for some time without mixing.
15. Green and Colorado
The confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers national park Canyonlands, Utah, USA. Green is green and Colorado is brown. The channels of these rivers run through rocks of different composition, which is why the colors of the water are so contrasting.
16. Rona and Arv
The confluence of the Rhone and Arves in Geneva, Switzerland. The river on the left is the transparent Rhone, which emerges from Lake Leman. The river on the right is the muddy Arve, which is fed by the many glaciers of the Chamonix valley.
Kiss of the ocean and the sea on the island of Eleuthera
On the Eleuthera island (Eleuthera) you can witness an amazing spectacle: the blue waters of the shallow Caribbean Sea are in contact with the deep dark blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean, creating a sharp color contrast. In some places, the sea and the ocean are separated by only a thin strip of land with a road laid along it. In the narrowest section, the width of the land is only 9 meters, the road passes there, under which the dark waters of the raging Atlantic Ocean mix with the calm waters of the turquoise Caribbean Sea.
An amazing place where sea and ocean meet
Eleuthera is one of several islands in the archipelago Bahamas, it is located at a distance of about 80 kilometers east of the capital Nassau. The area of the island is 484 km², it is an elongated narrow spit with a total length of 180 kilometers and a width in some places of about 1.6 kilometers.
In the Caribbean, there is another popular place among tourists -. This is the most popular tourist place The Caymans as it has an abundance of friendly Southern stingrays to photograph and touch.
Eleuthera is one of several islands in the Bahamas, about 80 km east of the capital Nassau. This is long island, about 180 km, and very thin - only 1.6 km wide. The blue waters of the shallow Caribbean Sea on one side of the island stand out in stark contrast to the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. One of the best places to see this extraordinary sight is the Glass Window Bridge. The Glass Window Bridge is located approximately two miles east of Upper Bogue near Gregory Town at Eleuthera's narrowest point. This is one of the few places on Earth where you can compare the rich open waters of the Atlantic Ocean on one side of the road and the calm turquoise green waters of the Caribbean Sea on the other side, separated only by a narrow strip of land.
The concrete bridge was built over a natural mountain bridge that connects the northern and southern points of Eleuthera with a paved road.
The Glass Window Bridge is one of the most visited attractions on the island.
For many centuries there has been a natural connection between northern and southern Eleuthera. But in the 1940s, several hurricanes destroyed the isthmus, and a concrete bridge was built as a replacement. For many decades, this bridge has been preserved through functional periodic repairs, but in 1992 and 1999 hurricanes caused significant damage to the bridge. After Hurricane Floyd in 1999, virtually nothing of the original Glass Window Bridge remained. Although the bridge was rebuilt and the Queen's Highway reconnected within a few months, Eleuthera's geography was changed forever. Even decades later, workers are still building coastline to re-pave completely destroyed asphalt.
One has to be very careful when visiting Glass Window and the surrounding cliff areas. The waves here suddenly come and cover the bridge and the neighboring cliffs. Since then, there have been no reefs along the ocean coast to hold back their onslaught. Waves can hit with great force and there have been cases when not only people but also cars were washed into the ocean.
The land of the banks of Eleuthera is subject to prolonged erosion from the power of water, therefore the coast is constantly changing, and by marks it is possible to trace what it was like at certain periods of time.
