A view of the southwestern beach at Grand Turk. This is currently the cruise ship dock, all of the other beaches are serene and very unpopulated

Grand Turk Island is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands (not the Caicos) with 18 square kilometres. It contains the territory's capital, Cockburn Town. The island is the administrative, historic, cultural and financial center of the country, and has the second largest population of the islands at approximately 3,720 people. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Cockburn Town is the capital city of the Turks and Caicos Islands, located on the largest island in that archipelago, Grand Turk Island. ...

Grand Turk gained international attention in 1962 when John Glenn's "Friendship 7" Mercury spacecraft landed in the vicinity of Grand Turk Island off the southeast shoreline. This was the first manned United States earth orbitting mission. Glenn's spacecraft is still on display in Grand Turk at the entrance to the airport.

It is said to be the landfall island of Columbus during his discovery of the New World in 1492.^{[citation needed]}

Coordinates: 21°28′20″N, 71°08′20″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...