| West Caicos Island |
West Caicos is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. West Caicos has an area of 11 square miles (28 km2), and has been uninhabited for over a century. The island is home to the 500 acre (2 km²) Lake Catherine, a protected wildlife reserve, filled with pink roseate flamingoes, humpback whales, manta rays, sea turtles and other indigenous wildlife.
In the 1890s, West Caicos was cleared for sisal plantations, which was a major crop of the Turks and Caicos Islands. On the island are the ruins of Yankee Town, which was the of centre of industry on the island. Remains of a railroad still exist. |
| At least two attempts have been made to purchase the entire island. The first was made by Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, his intent was to use it as a hideaway. However, he was assassinated before the purchase was made. In 1972, an oil company tried to purchase the island to build a refinery, and built an airstrip. The deal was not made, and the airstrip remains to this day. |
| A new effort appears to be well underway to develop the island into a private high-end resort reserve, billing itself as 'West Caicos Reserve'. This effort is apparently targeted toward high net worth individuals, as it is integrated with an exclusive 125 room Ritz-Carlton Resort/Spa and Marina. The anticipated opening of this community was to be mid-2008. However, due to the collapse of Lehmann Brothers (who were financing the project), all construction work was halted in September 2008. |
| The West Caicos seawall drops off to over 7,000 feet. Several different sea creatures live in these depths, from eagle rays to humpback whales. |
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