Group+3

=Country Name: Bahamas=

Group Members: Hannah, Madison, Stacey, and Samantha
media type="custom" key="324913"

__Cultural Features__
Hannah Johnson

Social Groups:
In the Bahamas the ethnic groups divide up like this.. 85% blacks, 12% whites, and 3% Asian and Hispanic. For the religion groups there is Baptist, Angelican, Roman Catholic, Penticoastal, Church of God, And methodist. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bf.html

Language:
In the Bahamas the official language is English. Most of the people speak english well. They do however have a few improvments. For example, sometimes they will say "whay yuh think use'a goin? "In English that means "Where do you think you are going?" Some Americans take these words to be mistakes but tehy are not. There is no official second language and they are free to speak whatever language that they want.

Religion:
In the Bahamas the official religion is Chirstianity. Off of christianity the main branch is Baptist. Baptist was brought to the Bahamas by a ,an named Prince Williams. He started off with Bethel Baptist Church. Then fourty years later he started St.James which was also a Baptist Church. Today the U.S. State department lists Baptist as the leading religion of the Bahamian people. [|http://www.fmbusainc.org/Bahamas/Bahamas.htm&h=171&w=300&sz=35&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=zAK_qftrXQHUwM:&tbnh=66&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbahamas%2Bpeople%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN]

//Daily Life//
The Bohemian people are usually pretty nice. The younger children value education. the children in school wear uniforms while in school and the adults wear suits and dresses on sundays everyone usually wear nice cloths and they are usually very brightly colored. When not at work, church, or school the people will normally wear western style clothing. When passing by each other they are usually freindly an will say hello or good day. The Majority of the people living in the Bahamas are part of the touring buisness. [|http:www.online.culturegrams.com/world/world_country_sections.php?contid=6&wmn=North_America&cid=189&cn=Bahamas&sname=Personal_Appearance&snid=7]

Art//://
In the Bahamas there is some very colorful art work. The vistas of sparkling crystal clear water and beautiful beaches, it i snot hard to understand why art is important to these people. Music is also very important to the people of the bahamas. The official music of the bahamas called Goombay. This style is reffered to as the rake and scrape music. The goombay drum the guitarand the saxaphone all help create the beautiful sounds of this style of music. - hannah

//**Six (6) Photos**//
"Flag of Bahamas." __World Flags__. 2005. 8 Nov. 2007 

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//[|http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/GLX/GOGY10347~Panoramic-View-of-the-Harbour-at-Nassau-in-the-Bahamas-Posters.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Panoramic-View-of-the-Harbour-at-Nassau-in-the-Bahamas-Posters_i424264_.htm&h=269&w=400&sz=30&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=YuquSiw_UEyx0M:&tbnh=83&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbahamas%2Bart%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN]

[|http://www.images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fmbusainc.org/Bahamas/people.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fmbusainc.org/Bahamas/Bahamas.htm&h=171&w=300&sz=35&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=zAK_qftrXQHUwM:&tbnh=66&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbahamas%2Bpeople%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN]

http://www.bahamaseventplanners.com/images/bahamas_islands.jpg////////

[|http://www.images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/3254/goombaymy4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://designrecital.blogspot.com/2007/07/this-really-nice-illustration-is-from.html&h=320&w=320&sz=93&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=PmUf3R0kNl0LwM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522goombay%2BMusic%2522%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG//////////]//

http://www.geographia.com/bahamas/p2p01.jpg

[|http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/images/photos/photo_lg_bahamas.jpg&imgrefurl=] [|http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/photos/photo_bahamas_bahamas.html&h=396&w=599&sz=75&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=PMd] [|Dfdsm5RpAhM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbahamas%2B%26imgsz%3Dsmall%257Cmedium%257Clarge%257Cxlarge%26svnum] [|%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN]

__Physical Features__
Madison Lathi

Land Forms
- The Bahamas are an archipelago that consists of 700 islands at northwestern edge of the West Indies. - Madison Lathi and Stacey S.- Out of the 700 islands, only 30 of the islands are inhabited.- Madison Lathi and Stacey S.- There are also 2,400 islets. - Madison Lathi and Stacey S. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/AO107.html//// The islands are made of limestone and coral reefs. Over a million years the limestone and coral has built up from the ocean floor into flat long formations and have been softened. Most of the islands are flat with occasional small rounded hills. Mount Alvernia is the highest point in the Bahamas. It reaches up to 39 feet. The vegetation is basically dense thorny and close to the ground. coastal flats and mud flats are some of the land forms http://www.worldgeography.abc-clio.com/library/maps/Countrydisplay.aspx?categoryid=18&countryid=14&bmap=False&nav=non////////

Water Forms
The Bahamas is the home to the world’s third largest barrier reefs. It goes down 700 feet deep at some parts.The largest coastline of the Bahamas is touches the Caribbean Sea. lagoons,and swamps are the water forms. There are no rivers in the Bahamas. -Madison L. and Stacey S.http://www.worldgeography.abc-clio.com/library/maps/Countrydisplay.aspx?categoryid=18&countryid=14&bmap=False&nav=non////////

Climate
- The climate is tropical marine.- Madison Lathi and Stacey S.- The Bahamas is also warm from the warm waters of Gulf Stream. - Madison Lathi and Stacey S.http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blc/bahamas.htm////

Animals
Some animals that live on the Bahamas are wild donkeys, wild boar, and horses. Animals that live off the coast of the Bahamas are the whale and the dolphin. Some of the reptiles are the rock iguana, ,and the Hawksbill turtle. One bird that lives on the island is the flamingo.

Six (6) Photos
http://www.atpm.com/5.11/bahamas/images/bahamas03.jpg

Parrots in the Bahamas - http://www.travelphoto.net/a-photo-a-day/wordpress/2004/01/26/bahamas-papageien/ iguana from the Bahamas http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.maxingout.com/images/100%2520update/Bahamas-lizard-three.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.maxingout.com/captainslogarchive55.htm&h=396&w=730&sz=72&hl=en&start=13&sig2=esGuLxgFNa_96MDl3e_mCA&tbnid=7rRt6QlUAgGJCM:&tbnh=76&tbnw=141&ei=5lovR46QEYu6gALE0NjpBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Danimals%2Bfrom%2Bthe%2BBahamas%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den//// dolphins https://secure.reservexl.net/wwwimg/img/tours/6911-3.jpg/// http://www.homesgofast.com/Bahamas/images/bahamas.jpg http://www.thebahamasguide.com/images/maps/TBG-BAHAMAS-MAP-4.gif
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__Current Issues__
Stacey S. and Samantha

Current Events
- One big current issue is the coral reef decay. – Stacey S. - The Bahamas is also suffering from the solid waste disposal. – Stacey S. http://www.theodora.com/wfb2003/bahamas_the/bahamas_the_geography.html - Tropical storm Noel hit the Bahamas at 12:20. (their time)- Stacey S. http://www.einnews.com/bahamas/

-Five to ten inches of rain is predicted for central and southeastern Bahamas. -Samantha -So far, at least eleven people are dead from the storm, and Tropical Storm Noel is approaching the Bahamas. -Samantha http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/weather/10/29/tropical.storm/index.html?iref=newss Most of the threats to the ecosystem affect the coral reefs. The number one threat is coral reef decay. Tourist industry is a hazard because of boating, scuba diving, and snorkeling. Sea temperature levels are rising which can cause more intense hurricanes that occur more often. Erosion is also a hazard for the coastal environment. -Samantha http://www.worldgeography.abc-clio.com/library/maps/Countrydisplay.aspx?categoryid=18&countryid=14&bmap=False&nav=non

Government
- The Prime Minister is the head of the government and is also the leader of the party that has the most seats in the elected house of assembly. -Samantha and Stacey- Queen Elizabeth the second is the head of state, who is represented by a Bahamian government general. -Samantha and Stacey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamas - The Bahamas is an independent island of the commonwealth. - Stacey S. - The capital of of th Bahamas is Nassau. - Stacey S. - Their independence day is on July 10, 1973. - Stacey S. - Their government type is constitutional parliamentary democracy. - Stacey S. - Their legal system is based on the English Common Law. -Stacey S. http;www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld_factbook/print/bf.html

-This is the prime minister of the Bahamas, known as Prime Minister Ingraham.- Stacey S. http://www.un.int/bahamas/biography_%20of_the_Prime_Minister.htm

This is the government house of the Bahamas. - Stacey S. http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/?id=3555067&refnum=133673

-The Bahamas are self governing and have full independence. -Samantha -It became self governing in 1964. -Samantha -It got it's independence from the United Kingdom. -Samantha -The Bahamas are 5,358 square miles and it is 28% water. -Samantha -In 2003, the population was about 323,000 people. -Samantha -Their GDP in 2005 was about $6.524 billion. -Samantha -Their time zone is EST, which means Eastern Standard Time zone. -Samantha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamas//

Economy
-The population below the poverty line is 9.3% as of 2004 - Stacey S.- The currency is the Bahamian Dollar (BSD)- Stacey S .- Agriculture products are citrus, vegetables, and poultry. - Stacey S. - The Bahamas is a developing nation. - Stacey S. - The economy is very dependent on tourism. _ Stacey S. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/bf.html

This a gold coin used for money in the Bahamas. - Stacey S. http://www.taxfreegold.co.uk/bahamas.html

History
-The Taino people moved into the Bahamas during the 7th century from Cuba and Hispaniola. Samantha and Stacey- Ba-ha-ma in Lucayan meant "large upper middle land". -Samantha and Staceyhttp:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamas

-The earliest settlers were the Siboney Indians. They lived off conch and fishing. -Samantha -The remains that they left show that they were there as early as about 7,000 years ago. -Samantha -Their remains also tell us that they disapeared when they were taken over by the Lucayans, another Caribbean group. -Samantha -The Lucayans were a large group of tribes who came from South America’s Amazon. -Samantha -In 1492, there were about 40,000 people in the Bahamas. -Samantha -The Lucayans had an advanced political and social structure. Also, they lived in well organized cities. -Samantha http://www.geographia.com/grandbahama/gbhistory01.htm

-The Spanish claimed the island in 1492. -Samantha -The Spanish enslaved the Lucayans. They transported the Lucayans to work in gold and silver mines in Cuba. -Samantha -In 1670, Great Brittan claimed the Islands of the Bahamas -Samantha http://www.geographia.com/grandbahama/gbhistory02.htm

- By 1700, the city of Nassau as ruled by pirates, who scared off most of the citizens of the Bahamas. - Stacey S. - The Lucayans developed an advanced social and political structure. - Stacey S. - The Lucayans also lived in a well- organized cities in the Bahamas. - Stacey S. http://www.bahamasgateway.com/bahamas_History.htm This is a reconstruction of a typical Lucayan village. -Samantha http://www.geographia.com/grandbahama/gbhistory01.htm
 * Six (6) Photos**




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Bahamian Money -Samantha http://www.greatestcities.com/0969pic/617/CP7617.jpg/Money_of_Bahamas.jpg

Independence Day in the Bahamas (2007) -Samantha http://www.flickr.com/photos/dabahamiantingdotcom/774714850/
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