Bermuda

Overview

Bermuda is an archipelago in the western Atlantic Ocean, about 1,050 kilometers off the coast of North Carolina, and a British overseas territory. The territory consists of about 138 islands and islets, the larger of which are connected by bridges and causeways. The islands were first settled by Europeans following a shipwreck in 1609, when the Sea Venture, an English ship bound for Virginia, ran aground on the surrounding reefs. The official language is English, and the official currency is the Bermudian dollar, pegged at a fixed rate to the U.S. dollar.

Hamilton, the capital, with its pastel-colored buildings and harbor, serves as the center of commercial and administrative life. The old town of St. George's, founded in 1612 as Bermuda's first English settlement, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000, preserving the earliest surviving English colonial town plan in the New World. The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, built from cast iron in 1846, is one of the oldest structures of its kind in the world, offering views over much of the island from its top. The Crystal Caves, a limestone cave system in the island's interior, feature underground lakes and stalactite formations.

Bermuda's beaches, including Horseshoe Bay, are known for their pink-tinted sand, colored by fragments of coral. The reefs surrounding the island, among the northernmost coral reef systems in the world, shelter numerous shipwrecks, making the surrounding waters a popular diving destination. The term "Bermuda Triangle," referring to the sea area linking the island, Miami, and Puerto Rico, became widely known in the mid-20th century in connection with mysterious ship and aircraft disappearances, though scientific consensus does not support the area being unusually dangerous. Local cuisine is centered on fish, with Bermuda fish chowder, a fish soup often flavored with sherry and rum-based sauce, as a signature dish.