The Out Islands

Long Island

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• Never more than 4 mi wide but close to 80 mi long, Long Island truly lives up to its name. The Queen's Highway traverses its length, through the Tropic of Cancer and some 35 settlements and farming towns. The island is known for its astonishing contrasts in geography, with chalk-white limestone cliffs, forested hillsides, mangrove swamps, and stark flatlands where salt is produced. Exposed to the open Atlantic, the east coast consists of black iridescent reefs, protected coves, long strands of shelling beaches, and craggy bluffs that drop precipitously into the deep blue sea. The tranquil west coast is composed of powdery-white beaches, wide-open sandy flats, and calm turquoise bays.

  Long Island was one of Columbus's early stopping-off places. In 1790 American Loyalists from the Carolinas brought their slaves to the island, where they built plantations and planted more than 4,000 acres of cotton. The rich soil made crop growing more successful here than on any other Out Island, but with the abolition of slavery, the plantations failed. Agriculture, however, remains a thriving part of the local economy, and pothole farming is the favored method of growing corn, peas, squash, pineapples, bananas, and other fruits.

  The island has blossomed into an Out Island jewel, with the full-time population settling in around 4,000 residents. Resort, diving, and snorkeling services have been enhanced in recent years, and vast, unexplored bonefish flats are drawing anglers who enjoy remote fishing. Sailing enthusiasts will find Joe's Sound—sandwiched between Cape Santa Maria beach and Glenton Sound—to be a protected haven that rivals any in the Bahamas. A sheltered deep-water marina with fuel and other services in Clarence Town has created more convenient boating access to the southern islands.