Bonaire

For other uses, see Bonaire (disambiguation).

Boniaru Bonaire
</span> Flag
Anthem: Tera di Solo y suave biento
Capital (and largest city)	Kralendijk 12°15′N 68°28′W
Official languages	Dutch
Government	See Politics of the Netherlands Antilles
- Bonaire Administrator
- Governor of N.A.	Frits Goedgedrag
Constitutional monarchy	part of the Netherlands Antilles
Area
- Total	288 km² 111 sq mi
Population
- 2001 census	10,791
- Density	35/km² (ranked as part of N. A.) 99/sq mi
Currency	Netherlands Antillean gulden (ANG)
Time zone	-4 (UTC-4)
Internet TLD	.an
Calling code	+599

Bonaire is an island in the Netherlands Antilles, and as such, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Together with Aruba and Curaçao it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles. While Papiamento, English and Spanish are commonly spoken, the official language is Dutch.

Bonaire has a land area of 288 km² (111 sq. miles). At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population was 10,791 inhabitants, which means a population density of 37 inh. per km². In 2004 the population was estimated at 10,185 inhabitants. Uninhabited Klein Bonaire, nestled in the western crescent of the main island, is 6 km² (2.3 sq. miles). Bonaire is served by Flamingo International Airport.

The structure of the relationship between Bonaire and the Kingdom is being considered for change under proposed legislation.

Cities/Towns

The only generally recognized towns on the island are Kralendijk and Rincon. Kralendijk has many suburbs/neighborhoods (on an island with such a small population, the distinction is not always clearcut). Kralendijk's suburbs/neighborhoods include:

• Antriol
• Belnem
• Hato
• Lagoen
• Lima
• Noord Salina
• Nikiboko
• Republiek
• Sabadeco
• Sabana
• Santa Barbara
• Tera Cora

Several smaller towns had existed in the national park, but are now abandoned. They were: Labra, Ishiri, Kokorobi, Jan Doran, Vlijt, Rigot, Porto Spano, and Kunchi.

Salt

Bonaire Island and Klein Bonaire, from space, March 1996. The white and flat red areas in the south are salt flats.

Exploiting its natural topography, Bonaire has been a major supplier of salt to the United States for many years, and continues to do so through the flooding of flat-lands with sea water.

Bonaire was originally settled by the Dutch in the late 15th century as a source of salt, using the same evaporative methods used today, albeit on a small scale. Much of the early population of the island was in the form of slaves used to work the salt ponds. Today the slave huts remain as a historical site, and are the names of two popular dive sites "Red Slave Huts" and "White Slave Huts."

Salt production today covers much of the southern half of the island, and is run by the industrial giant Cargill. The southern end of the island, on maps, is often referred to as Solar Salt Works.

Diving and Other Natural Features

Bonaire is a popular tourist destination for both shore diving and shore snorkeling.

The Old Malmok lighthouse - in Washington Slagbaai National Park.

Bonaire is world renowned for its excellent scuba diving and is consistently rated among the top shore diving and Caribbean diving locations in the world. Bonaire's license plates carry the logo Diver's Paradise in English. The island is ringed by a coral reef which is easily accessible from the shore along the Western and Southern sides. Furthermore, the entire coastline of the island has been declared a marine sanctuary, preserving local fish life. Bonaire is also consistently recognized as one of the best destinations for snorkeling.

The coral reef around uninhabited Klein Bonaire is particularly well conserved, and it draws divers, snorkelers, and boaters.

Bonaire is also famed for its flamingo populations and its donkey sanctuary. Flamingos are drawn to the brackish water, which harbors shrimp they feed on. Starting in the 1500s, the Dutch raised sheep, goats, pigs, horses and donkeys on Bonaire, and the descendants of the goats and donkeys roam the island today.

Washington Slagbaai National Park, located at the north side of the island, is an ecological preserve. The highest point of Bonaire, Brandaris, located within this preserve has a complete view of the island.

Lac Bay, (also known as Lac Cai or Lac Cay) on the eastern side of the island, is a windsurfer's paradise. Locals Taty and Tonky Frans in 2004 were ranked in the top five of the world's freestyle windsurfing professionals.

Gallery

Homestead with a cactus fence.	A cactus fence.	Iguana.	The clear water of Bonaire.
Divers and a large orange sponge.	French Angelfish with dive boat in background.	Two Caribbean Reef Squid.	Divers and a large orange sponge.
Christmas Tree worms in a Brain Coral.	Pederson's Shrimp.	Close-up of a Long-lure Frogfish.	Diver on the wreck of the Hilma Hooker.
Oscellated Frogfish.	Diver under the Salt Pier.	Sponges and Cup Corals at night on the Town Pier.	Cup corals at night on the Town Pier.

External links

• www.gov.an - official governmental portal of the Netherlands Antilles
  • Bonaire-gov.an - official website of the government of Bonaire
  • BonaireEconomy.org - Department of Economic & Labour Affairs (DEZA)
• InfoBonaire.com - The Bonaire Information Site
• Lonely Planet - Bonaire
• Bonaire National Marine Park
• Bonaire Nature
• BonaireTalk.com - Active Bonaire Discussion Board
• BonaireWebCams.com - Live WebCams from the island of Bonaire (including the Bonaire ReefCam)
• DiveIntoAdventureBonaire.com - official web site of the island-wide Dive Into Adventure Bonaire event June 17-24, 2006

Maps of Bonaire 12.16° N -68.23° E

• MapQuest: out 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 in
• Multimap: out 4M 2M 1M 500k 200k in
• MSN World Atlas: out 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 in
• Google satellite image

Mapquest zoom level 7 only has the Kralendijk region; this region is also available in zoom level 8, 9, and 10.

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