By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises
Like much of the Caribbean, it is easy to look at Saint Lucia and see only a pretty, green island fringed by sandy beaches and lorded over by some unusual geological formations.
But it is also a place with a bit of history, an independent nation now part of the British Commonwealth that in its first 150 years of recorded history ping-ponged back and forth between England and France 14 times.
It has an English heritage now, but holds on to French influence in many place names: Soufrière, Castries, Piton, Gros Islet, and Vieux Fort. There’s also a French-based patois spoken by many islanders.
It went back and forth between admirers so many times that some early historians puckishly called it the “Helen of the West Indies.”
Helen of Troy on an English island with a French background and a name based on a Sicilian saint.
Saint Lucia today is probably best known for its distinctive geological landmarks: the Pitons.
There are only two Pitons on Saint Lucia, and they are almost impossible to miss. They can be seen from almost everywhere on the island.
They’re on the flag, one of the more handsome standards I’ve seen. And they’re on the local beer, which naturally moves the Pitons onto billboards and t-shirts, and carnival floats.
The Pitons are volcanic plugs, remnants of huge collapsed stratovolcanoes, created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano.
These particular vents are believed to be dormant and over time the surrounding hill has eroded away, leaving only the plug.
Gros Piton is 771 meters (2,530 feet) above sea level, and about 3 kilometers or 2 miles in diameter at its base. Petit Piton is 743 meters, (2,438 feet) tall, and just one kilometer or two-thirds of a mile in diameter.
Below the pitons is the Soufrière caldera. Nearby you’ll find the Sulphur Springs at Qualibou, an active geothermal field with sulphurous fumaroles (steam vents), hot mud pools, and hot springs.
And below the island is a tectonic plate, a subduction zone, which extends about 700 kilometers or 450 miles through the Lesser Antilles. This is the source of the volcanic origin of most of the Caribbean.
We will be returning to Saint Lucia on February 16, and I welcome you to consult that day’s blog entry for more details.
Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.
SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS
————-
Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”
Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.
SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS