United Kingdom - Cayman Islands - Little Cayman Marine Parks and Protected Areas

"Marking the most profound depths of the Caribbean Sea, the Cayman Trench is as deep as the K2 mountain is high and as long as the border of the United States. Along its northern edge lies the Cayman Ridge, stretching from the Sierra Maestra mountain range in Cuba to the Gulf of Honduras. In that ridge emerge three Cayman islands, uplifted long ago by friction between the North American and the Caribbean tectonic plates: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.

Little Cayman is the smallest (~ 26 sq km) and least developed of these Cayman Islands. Its 45 km of shoreline is made alternately of bluff limestone and ironshore, the latter of which is differentiated into reef, back-reef, lagoonal, shoal, and beach-ridge facies. Its true magic lies off this shoreline, in sea-grass lagoons, barrier reefs, patch reefs, and above all, the plunging sheer coral walls of the mountain under the sea. Within a few hundred meters from shore, the mountain drops down to depths of 1000m – 2000m. The granodiorite shelf holds exuberant coral reefs leading to, and following down, the sheer wall. This protected and still pristine geology harbours a rich and rare marine ecosystem that by most measures is beyond comparison to similar reefs in the Caribbean basin. Little Cayman’s environment, with its Cayman Islands Government National Conservation Law designated marine park and protected areas, is a Mission Blue Hope Spot and is recognised as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The country is recognized by the Pew Cheritable Trust as one of only 17 ‘shark sanctuary’ countries in the world." Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

A nice map postcard of Cayman Islands showing Little Cayman Island. It is mailed from Hell, Grand Cayman of Cayman Islands. Postmarked on February 11, 2010 and arrived in Penang on March 1, 2010. Thanks to DAO who was visiting.