The island country consists of Grand Cayman, which is the largest and most populous of the trio. The Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which lie approximately 89 miles east-northeast of Grand Cayman and are separated from each other by a channel about seven miles wide.
The Cayman Islands lie 480 miles south of Miami, nestled in the turquoise waters of the western Caribbean. The three gentle islands are located just 149 miles south of their closest Caribbean neighbor Cuba, and 167 miles northwest of Jamaica. Remote, yet not removed, it’s no wonder Cayman has been meeting the demands of vacationers for over 400 years.
The total land mass of the three islands is 100 square miles. Grand Cayman occupies 76 square miles; Cayman Brac, 14 square miles and Little Cayman, 10 square miles. Grand Cayman is approximately 22 miles long and 8 miles at its widest point, reaching a maximum elevation of 79.77 feet in North Side.
Cayman Brac is 14 miles long and 2 miles wide and has the most dramatic topography of the trio. Its majestic Bluff rises west to east along the length of the island to 151.75 above Spot Bay. Many mysterious caves are carved throughout this awe-inspiring natural attraction.
Little Cayman, only 10 miles long and a mile wide, is flat, reaching a maximum elevation of 55.75 ft. Its famous Bloody Bay wall Marine Park has been called one of the world’s best dive sites. Inland, the 203 – acre Booby Pond Nature Reserve is a RAMSAR site and nesting ground for the Caribbean’s largest population of Red Footed Boobies.
The three islands are limestone outcroppings, the tops of a submarine mountain range called the Cayman Ridge, which extends west southwest for the Sierra Maestra range off the southeast part of Cuba to the Misteriosa Bank near Belize. The islands lack rivers or streams because of the porous nature of the limestone rock. It is this lack of runoff which gives the surrounding Caribbean Sea exceptional visibility, often well over 120 ft.
Between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica lies the deepest part of the Caribbean, the Cayman Trough, which is over four miles deep. South of Cayman is the Bartlett Deep where depths of over 18,000 ft. have been recorded. All three islands are surrounded by healthy coral reefs which lie at the top of dramatic walls and drop-offs close to shore, creating ideal conditions for diving and sportfishing.