Tag: beach

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Tanzania

Zanzibar I

Zanzibar (pronounced /ˈzænzɨbɑr/) is a semi-autonomous part of the United Republic of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, informally referred to as Zanzibar), and Pemba. Zanzibar was once a separate state with a long trading history within the Arab world; it united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964 and still enjoys a high degree of autonomy within the union. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City, and its historic center, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.

Zanzibar’s main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. For this reason, the islands, together with Tanzania’s Mafia Island, are sometimes called the Spice Islands (a term also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia). Zanzibar’s ecology is of note for being the home of the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus and the (possibly extinct) Zanzibar Leopard.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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United States

Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook is a barrier spit, approximately 9.7 kilometers (between 6 and 7 miles) in length and 800 meters (0.5 miles) (varying between 0.10 and 1 miles) wide, in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic Ocean coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. The barrier spit encloses the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay south of New York City. The Dutch called the area “Sant Hoek;” with the English “Hook” deriving from the Dutch “Hoek,” meaning “spit of land”.

Geologically, Sandy Hook is a large sand spit or barrier spit, the extension of a barrier peninsula along the coast of New Jersey, separated from the mainland by the estuary of the Shrewsbury River. On its western side, the peninsula encloses Sandy Hook Bay, a triangular arm of Raritan Bay. The community of Highlands overlooks the southern part of the hook. Sandy Hook is legally part of Middletown Township, New Jersey, although not contiguous with the rest of the Township. The peninsula being a federal reservation, this technicality is essentially moot.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Chile

Easter Island

Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui); (Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile annexed in 1888, Easter Island is widely famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai (pronounced /ˈmoʊ.аɪ/), created by the early Rapanui people. It is a world heritage site with much of the island protected within the Rapa Nui National Park. Historically the island has experienced a collapse of its ecosystem, with extinction of many of its prehistoric species; these events were associated with over-exploitation of the island’s resources. The underlying island geology is one of extinct volcanoes.

The history of Easter Island is rich and controversial. Its inhabitants have endured famines, epidemics, civil war, slave raids and colonialism, and the crash of their ecosystem; their population has declined precipitously more than once. They have left a cultural legacy that has brought them fame disproportionate to their population.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Thailand

Koh Lipe

Koh Lipe (Thai: เกาะหลีเป๊ะ) is an island in the Adang-Rawi Archipelago in the Satun Province of Thailand.

Koh Lipe is a tiny island in the Andaman Sea located 70 km off the southwest coast of Thailand near the Malaysian border. The Thai name is transliterated many different ways into English. The most common names in English are Koh Lipe, Koh Lipeh, Ko Lipey and Ko Lipe. Koh Lipe is part of the Tarutao National Marine Park and is directly south of the larger islands Ko Adang and Ko Rawi and about 50km from the island of Tarutao. It was settled by a band of sea gypsies originally from Malaysia, known as the ‘Chao Lei’ people or also known as Urak Lawoi. This island has four main beaches: Sunset beach, Sunrise beach, Karma Beach and Pattaya beach. Accommodation from grass huts to air-conditioned bungalows can be found on these beaches. It is possible to walk around the entire island in little over an hour.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Malaysia

Langkawi

Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah (Malay: Langkawi Permata Kedah) is an archipelago of 99 islands (an extra 5 temporary islands are revealed at low tide) in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border. On July 15, 2008, Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah had consented to the change of name to Langkawi Permata Kedah in conjunction with his Golden Jubilee Celebration. By far the largest of the islands is the eponymous Pulau Langkawi with a population of some 45,000, the only other inhabited island being nearby Pulau Tuba. Langkawi is also an administrative district with the town of Kuah as the capital and largest town. Langkawi is a duty-free island.

On June 1, 2007, Langkawi Island has been given a World Geopark status by UNESCO. Three of its main conservation area in Langkawi Geopark;Machincang Cambrian Geoforest Park, Kilim Karst Geoforest Park and Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest park.(Island of the Pregnant Maiden Lake). These three parks are the most popular tourism area within Langkawi Geopark.

Langkawi is particularly known for its beaches which are among the best in Malaysia. Some of the most popular are Pantai Cenang, Pantai Tengah, Burau Bay, Pantai Kok, and Datai Bay. Pantai Cenang is a picturesque beach with seemingly unending stretches of fine white sand. The beach is contoured by tall coconuts and casuarinas. Pantai Tengah is separated from Cenang by a small cape. Burau Bay, fringed by rocky outcrops, is the favorite place of migratory birds in Langkawi. Pantai Kok is a peaceful beach with the backdrop of limestone hills. Datai Bay has wonderful combination of forests and sea.The milky beach is backed by lush forest.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Cuba

Cayo Blanco


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Bahamas

Long Island

Long Island is an island in the Bahamas that is split by the Tropic of Cancer. Its capital is Clarence Town. Long Island is one of the Districts of the Bahamas and is known as the most scenic island in the Bahamas. The population is roughly 4,000 inhabitants.

Long Island is 80 miles (about 130 kilometers) long and 4 miles (6 km) wide at its widest point. The land area is 173 square miles. Long Island is situated about 165 miles (265 km) southeast of the Bahamian capital of Nassau, which is located on the island of New Providence. The Tropic of Cancer runs through the northern quarter of the island.

The Atlantic Ocean coast, on the east side of Long Island, is noted for its steep rocky headlands, while the Caribbean Sea coast on the west side is noted for its broad white beaches with soft sand. The terrain ranges widely throughout the island, including white flat expanses from which salt is extracted, swamplands, beaches, and sloping (in the north) and low (in the south) hills.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of 1,128 km2 (436 sq mi). It is an overseas department of France. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados.

As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic. As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the euro. Its official language is French, although many of its inhabitants also speak Antillean Creole and Modern English (Créole Martiniquais). Martinique is pictured on all euro banknotes, on the reverse at the bottom of each note, right of the Greek ΕΥΡΩ (EURO) next to the denomination.

The inhabitants of Martinique are French citizens with full political and legal rights. Martinique sends four deputies to the French National Assembly and two senators to the French Senate.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Mauritius

Mauritius II

Mauritius (French: L’île Maurice, Mauritian Creole: Moris), officially the Republic of Mauritius, French: République de Maurice is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometres (560 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 200 km (120 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (350 mi) to the northeast.

The island of Mauritius is renowned for having been the only known home of the dodo. First sighted by Europeans around 1600 on Mauritius, the dodo became extinct less than eighty years later.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Guadeloupe

Terre de Haut