Turks and Caicos Islands

The landscape varies from sand dunes to lush green vegetation.Lying off the south-eastern tip of the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos take up about 166sq mi/430sq km of the Atlantic. The Turks Island Passage separates the Turks Islands from the Caicos Islands. The Turks Islands are named for the indigenous Turks Head Cactus and Caicos is a derivative of the Spanish word cayos, meaning "small island". Together, they consist of about 30 cays and eight inhabited islands: Salt Cay, Grand Turk, South Caicos, Middle Caicos, North Caicos, Providenciales, Parrot Cay and Pine Cay. Most resorts are on Providenciales and Grand Turk, and Cockburn Town on Grand Turk is the islands' business and government center.The country is an offshore financial center and recently tourism has become the Turks and Caicos main revenue. There is a small traditional fishing industry that continues throughout the islands. The residents known as "Belongers", are recognized for their friendly character.The Lucayan Indians lived here before Ponce de Léon is recorded to have discovered the Turks and Caicos in 1512. Bermudian salt producers sporadically occupied these islands from the 17th C onwards. Americans loyal to the Crown settled here in the late 18th C. Until 1848 the islands were managed from the Bahamas, thereafter, until 1952, they were governed by Jamaica. Though independence has been offered, the Turks and Caicos remain a British Crown colony.Daily domestic air service is provided to all of the inhabited islands in the Turks and Caicos. The country has no traffic lights, next to no street signs and those renting cars must remember to drive on the left in this overseas territory of the United Kingdom.