Western Atlantic

The open Atlantic northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands lies beyond a chain of low islands, cays and submerged banks. The Turks and Caicos groups stand on separate shallow platforms, divided by the deep Turks Island Passage. Ships bound between the Atlantic and Caribbean used these waters, but reefs and shoals made the approaches to the islands dangerous. The contrast between deep channels and shallow banks defines this part of the archipelago.