Cat Island

Cat Island

Cat Island is the sixth largest island in the Bahamas island chain. Rumor has it that it was named after Arthur Catt, the famous British navigator, or perhaps because the English, arriving here in the 1600s, encountered a huge number of feral cats. Choose whichever version, whichever seems more credible to you. The cats are said to have been left here by the first Spanish colonists, who left the island in a hurry to find gold in South America. Cat Island protrudes far out into the Atlantic Ocean and is rumored to be where Columbus first landed after reaching the New World.

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General Information

The island is located southeast of Eleuthera and northeast of Long Island, is about 77 kilometers long and varies in width from one to four miles.

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The first permanent settlement was established by prosperous Loyalists in 1783. At that time, many cotton plantations were established on the island and the planters began to grow rich. Today, the liana-covered and dilapidated mansions and crumbling, sand-filled slave villages and many artifacts in the Arawak caves are nearly overgrown with tropical flowers and grasses. One such plantation is at Port Howey, a small picturesque village said to have been built by Colonel Andrew Devaux, who recaptured Nassau from the Spanish in 1783.

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The boot-shaped island is one of the most beautiful and fertile of the Bahamas. Its cliffs offer stunning views of densely forested hills and over 97 kilometers of deserted pink and white sand beaches.

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Descendants of many early settlers still inhabit the town where their ancestors lived.

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The island is home to Mount Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas, as well as beautiful beaches and crystal clear waters perfect for snorkeling.