Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences
About Roatan
Location
Roatan is located in the Western Caribbean (16°S, 86°W) approximately 35 miles (56 km) north of mainland Honduras. Roatan is the largest and most developed of the Bay Islands with an area of 49 sq. miles. It has a 30-mile long E-W axis and a 1-2 mile wide N-S axis. The other main islands are Guanaja (29 sq. miles) and Utila (16 sq. miles). These islands form a 75-mile (120 km) crescent along with three smaller islands of Helene, Morat, and Barbareta and 65 tiny keys; 23 of which are found off of Roatán.
Climate
Roatan’s geographical location gives the island a tropical climate. Temperatures remain high during the entire year and show a wide variation in annual precipitation between the wet and dry seasons. Air temperatures on Roatán hover between 77 and 88 ° F while the warm crystal clear waters surrounding Roatán range from 78 to 86 ° F with the warmest temperatures occuring in October. Rainfall exceeds 6 ft or 2,000 mm annually most of which falls during the rainy season. The rainy period on Roatan occurs between October and January. While the length of the dry season can vary, the average length of this period is 3 months. Less than 100 mm of precipitation generally occurs from February through June with the period of dry soil occurring from March through May.
The Bay Islands lie in the trade wind belt and east to southeast trade winds with 19 to 26 mph velocities are relatively constant. The almost continuous influence of trade winds helps moderate the humidity on the island. Periods of up to 5 days of dead calm are common in August, and each winter 5 to 7 North American cold fronts (“northers”) reach the islands bringing wind shifts to the north and west, overcast skies and prolonged rainfall. While Roatán lies further west than the paths of most Atlantic hurricanes, one large one is estimated every 10 years. Before Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Hurricane Fifi in 1974 was the worst in recent times: wind speeds reached over 100 miles per hour and over 20 inches of rain fell.
Vegetation
Roatan has a mountainous backbone; only 2% is considered level. It’s many steep peaks, some rising as high as 1,300 feet, make the island poorly suited for agriculture. While the majority of the island possesses slopes between 30 and 75%, they can attain slopes of 90% in some areas. Most level areas are swampy.
The island vegetation has been modified over the years as agriculture and exotic species like mangos, cashews and almonds have been introduced. Despite the alteration, the warm, moist climate still supports a lush diversity of plant life. Over 50% of the island is under some type of forest cover. Several vegetative types prevail. Primary, secondary, mixed, and pine forests are found on the higher ridges. Small rainforest like growths of tall hardwoods, dense palms, lianas, orchids and ferns can be found on the lower valley slopes. A thorn-scrub association is somewhat widespread in Roatan.
There are also several areas of concentrated mangrove cover and beach vegetation around the island. The native pines and oaks that impressed Columbus into naming the Bay Islands after them still exist although they no longer cover such an extensive area. Other native species include the gumbo-limbo, cecropia, strangler fig and many different palms. The trunks and branches of each tree are home to a variety of orchids, lianas, ferns and bromeliads. Drier sites are home to acacia and mimosa with their sharp thorns.
Terrestrial Ecosystems
The terrestrial ecosystems on Roatán support an abundance of wildlife. While many species found here are the same animals found on the mainland, the isolation of the Bay Islands has provided an opportunity for some endemic species to evolve. There are presently nine species and two sub-species of animals endemic to the Bay Islands. Some of these species are the Roatán Parrot (Amazona xantholora), the Roatán Agouti (Dasyprocta ruatanica), the Roatán Coral Snake (Micrurus ruatanica), the Marmosa (Marmosa ruatanica) (mouse opossum), and the Rosy Boa (Boa constrictor). Five of the species are mollusks described by Professor Emilio Garcia of Louisiana State University in cooperation with RIMS. Wildlife that is extinct or extirpated from the Bay Islands includes the Caribbean Monk Seal (now extinct), the West Indian Manatee, and the Brown and Red-Footed Boobies.
Tourism
The Bay Islands Department (political sub-division), created in 1872, is Honduras’ most northern and completely insular department. In the 1992 national census it was suggested that the population of the Bay Islands was upwards of 30,000 people with the majority, about 66.2 %, living on Roatan. A recent census suggests the population has grown to over 100,000.
The major population centers in Roatan are Coxen Hole, French Harbor, and Oak Ridge. Smaller communities include West End, Sandy Bay, and Punta Gorda. Many people on the island are bilingual speaking both Spanish and English and come from a cultural heritage of English, African Caribbean, Indian, and Central and North American descent. You will also hear dialects of Garifuna and Creole.
Roatan is the only Bay Island with an extensive road and communication system. The number of tourists that visit the Bay Islands annually now greatly exceeds the population. This tourism is based principally on scuba diving. In 1969 it was estimated that about 900 tourists visited these islands for diving related recreation. That number increased to 8,000 in 1988, and doubled to 17,000 by 1992. With the expansion of the airport runway in 1990, the completion of the first cruise ship terminal in 2000 and the 2nd terminal in 2010 that number has increased substantially and according to recent estimates, the number of tourists has now reached almost 2 million.