File:Bahamas (MODIS 2022-01-03).jpg

English: This stunning true-color image of a portion of the Bahamas was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite on December 16, 2021. The sparkling-clear sky allows a detailed view of Andros Island in the west, Eleuthera Island in the east, the bright jewel-tones of the Great Bahama Bank, and the deep blue of a deep underwater canyon that separates Andros Island from Eleuthera.

The largest island of the Bahamas, Andros measures about 100 miles (160 km) long and 45 miles (70 km) wide. The flat, forested island is actually a conglomeration of multiple islands which are strung together by a series of wetlands. To the west, the waters over the limestone-rich mound known as the Great Bahama Banks are extremely shallow—in some areas, only a food or two at most. Limestone is a sedimentary rock formed by the skeletal fragments of sea creatures, including corals and foraminifera, and this particular limestone platform has been accumulating since at least the Cretaceous Period.

To the east of Andros, the sea floor abruptly plunges downward, reaching a depth of about 14,060 feet (4,285 miles). This deep water appears very dark, in brilliant contrast to the light color of the shallowest areas of the Great Bahamas Bank. The submarine trench appears to take the shape of a long tongue, giving this unique feature the name of “Tongue of the Ocean”. Colorful wave-shaped ripples sit at the southern edge of the Tongue. These are large underwater dunes that have been shaped by the action of the waves over time.