One on my favorite television shows is the Nature of Things. It is hosted by Canadian scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki. Each week Mr. Suzuki uncovers another mystery of the natural world. Last week David explored the rich variety of islands in the Caribbean. The show takes you from the Bahamas to Bonaire and all the way down to Trinidad. If you ever wanted to know more about the Caribbean this is the program to watch. Since the show doesn’t air everywhere I have done my best to transcribe as much of the show as I could. Part 2 of the series airs tomorrow night on CBC. It’s airs primarily in Canada, but if you live in the Northern United States you can also get it. Click below to read more about the Caribbean islands as described by David Suzuki I have also added some beautiful pictures of the islands.

One of the world’s greatest environmentalists, David Suzuki

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On the northern fringes of the Caribbean are 700 low lying islands sitting on a vast lime stone shelf known as the Bahma banks. The Bahamas were named by the Spanish and Bahmar means shallow sea. The seas of the Bahamas provide ideal waters for some of the seas most intelligent animals…spotted dolphins

Aerial view of the Bahamas
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These shallow banks of the Bahamas are just one of many beautiful islands in the Caribbean, in the south east there is another. At their outer limit of the eastern shelf lies Barbuda. Like the Bahamas, Barbuda is flat and famous for its endless sandy shores. But step back from beach and there is a very different world, a vast shallow lagoon dotted with mangrove trees. Remote, secluded and a stones throw from vast fishing grounds of the Atlantic it is home to Caribbean’s largest colony of frigate birds.

Satellite image of Barbuda
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There is a threat on the horizon for these beautiful islands. Between June and November hurricanes can strike out of the blue. With winds that can reach 240km an hour.

Hurricanes are just one of the forces the Caribbean has to face. Another force created some of the Caribbean’s most beautiful islands. Many islands in the Caribbean are difference from the Bahamas and Barbuda. Instead of flat shores they have towering peaks created by volcanoes. The slopes of these volcanic islands are cloaked in thick forests. The craters on St Vincent for example rise hire than 1000m above sea level, too high for trees to grow.

Crater on St. Vincent
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Another volcanic island, Dominica, has a volcanic past that created secret sea cliffs guarding secret valleys carved out of the rock. It’s this explosive history that makes these islands so lush.

Volcanic soils are rich and fertile fed by rainfall over the peaks. These dense forests erupt with life. Many of these islands have their own unique species such as unique hummingbirds and parrots that are found no where else on Earth.

Because this topical island paradise is so good for growing crops it is also good for islanders. However islanders on many volcanic islands such as Dominica live in the darker side of paradise, they literally live under a volcano with constant reminders that beneath the surface there is plenty going on.

Taken from a cliff on Dominica
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St Lucia’s toxic springs have been bubbling for 3000 years. The threat of volcanic eruptions is no longer a thing of the past. In 1995 the nearby island of Montserrat erupted it was the first of many eruptions spanning many years. Pyroclastic flows rolled down the mountainside at 100km an hour incinerating everything it its passed. The pyroclastic flows didn’t stop when they hit the shore, they carried on hundreds of meters out to see. In another huge eruption and ash cloud rose 15km into the air. Montserrat’s residence could only look on as their island went up in smoke. Tons of hot ash and rock rained down. It was a race against time to get out of the way. All this left parts of the island engulfed in mud and ash up to 10 meters deep. Sadly, 19 people lost had their lives.

Eruption on Montserrat
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Montserrat’s capital, Plymoth was once home to 3000 people; today it’s a ghost town. Half of Montserrat is an exclusion zone with eruptions continuing to this day, with the last big blast in 2006.

Plymouth in 1993 (right) and Plymouth today (left)
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Most of the volcanic islands in the Caribbean are relatively small. But others have quite different origins and are much larger; the biggest one of them all is 13000 km long with a big atmosphere to match….Cuba. Old Havana salsa and cigar capital of the world. Cuba’s vibrant culture and music are famous world wide. There is another side to Cuba though. The limestone sculptures of its countryside. Beneath the surface Cuba is honeycombed by thousand of caves. In fact they have more caves per kilometer than any other country of earth. Limestone is dissolved by water and thousands of years of tropical rain has created works of art.

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At the Caribbean’s southern most extremity the climate has created an extreme environment. About 95km off the coast of South America are Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao the ABC islands. A world away from lush volcanic slopes these are the dessert islands of the Caribbean. With no mountains and their southerly position they get very little rain. In addition they are exposed to strong dry trade winds blowing across the Caribbean sea. The wind is so strong that trees all tilt one way.

Wind blow tree
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On Bonaire the dry heat creates an island specialty, salt pans. Heat evaporates off the water leaving salt crystals. Hundred thousands tons of salt are left each year. This salt is their white gold a product that first attracted Dutch settlers and was originally mined by slaves. But can any wildlife exist in this harsh environment? Brine shrimps thrive in salt water 9 times that of the sea, which in turn provide food for West Indian Flamingos. Each year 20000 flamingos fly into these remote salt planes to breed. A lack of people and predators makes it a safe place to breed.

Mountains of salt on Bonaire
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Being arid gives the ABC islands another special feature. So little rainfall means there are no rivers, so there is no silt being pushed into the ocean. This means water around the island is crystal clear and highlighted by lush coral reefs. The tropical sun and warm clear waters provide ideal conditions for reefs to flourish. Fed by rich ocean currents flowing up from South America, Bonaire has the greatest variety of reef fish of any Caribbean island. The reefs of the Caribbean have over 800 species of fish and at least 10 times that number of crustaceans and other invertebrates.

Scuba diving off the coast of Bonaire
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It may not have big reefs but Trinidad’s swamps and wetlands is a haven for animals found on no other Caribbean island. Red howler monkey’s don’t live on any other Caribbean island. They howl to defend their territories. Until as recently as 2000 years ago Trinidad was part of South America. After the last ice age, rising sea levels gradually cut it off. So Trinidad is now a Caribbean island.

Trinidad from the air.
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Stay tuned for part 2 next week!