Glass Window Bridge. Eleuthera, Bahamas
These photos show not only beautiful landscapes, but also an amazing thing – a place, where two bodies of water come together. This is where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea – Eleuthera Island. It belongs to the Bahamian archipelago.
Eleuthera is an island with an area of 484 km², very long and narrow – 180 km long and about 2 km wide. It is located to the east of the island of New Providence, at a distance of approximately 80 km from the largest city of the Bahamas and its capital Nassau. The island’s name comes from the Greek word “free”.
In the narrowest part of the island, there is Glass Window Bridge – platform, where you can watch this extraordinary natural phenomenon. Its width is only nine meters. Standing on it, you’ll find yourself between the Caribbean Sea of turquoise-green color and the dark-blue waters of the Atlantic.
It should be noted that the difference between the water not only in color. While the Atlantic Ocean rages, turquoise surface of the Caribbean Sea remains serene. It is an indescribable feeling to stand there – between the two worlds!
Earlier, northern and southern parts of the island were connected by the natural rock formation. However, since the 1940s, a number of powerful storms began to destroy it. Then, a new concrete bridge was built on the site of the aqueous merger, and stayed there until 1999, but later has also become a victim of the hurricane “Floyd.” To this day it is unknown how to deal with the elements of nature – the repair works on the Glass Window Bridge, which was created several months later, are continuous. Every year, workers are engaged in the strengthening of the shoreline and changing the damaged asphalt by the new one.
Queen’s Highway Motorway, extending over the Glass Window Bridge, connects the city of Upper Bogue, with the city of Gregory Town, which are separated by a narrow strait. If you want to enjoy these magnificent views in person, you should be very careful. The fact is that the coastline from the ocean is not protected by the reefs, and the waves sweep over so strong that not only man can be washed off from the bridge, but also a car.
So, even when a man-made bridge changed the natural communication between the parts of the island, it hasn’t become eternal. Strong water pressure continuously covers the bridge and the neighboring cliffs. The shores of Eleuthera are exposed to the prolonged water erosion, therefore the coastline is constantly changing, and due to the marks we can trace how it looked like at certain times.