Guanahani was the name the natives gave to the island that Columbus called San Salvador when he first arrived at the Americas. Columbus reached the island on 12 October 1492, the first island he sighted and visited in the Americas. Guanahani is one of the islands of the Lucayan archipelago in the Bahamas, but the exact island is a matter of some debate. The problem may never be resolved, as Columbus's original log book has been lost for centuries, and the only evidence is in the edited abstract made by Bartolomé de las Casas. Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator and maritime explorer credited as the discoverer of the Americas. ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Not to be confused with 1492: Conquest of Paradise. ... The Lucayan archipelago is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. ... An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the papers purpose. ... Bartolomé de Las Casas This article is about a Spanish priest in the 16th century. ...

Candidates

Landfall theories

Image File history File links Lfmap. ... Image File history File links Lfmap. ...

Prominent candidates

• Modern San Salvador Island; it was in fact known as Watling Island before 1925, but renamed after some historians made what was then considered a persuasive case that it was Guanahani. Notable defenders of the theory: Samuel Eliot Morison, James Murdock
• Samana Cay, proposed in 1882 by Gustavus V. Fox, a US Navy captain. Fox's theory was little known until revived in a 1986 issue of National Geographic Magazine
• Plana Cays, proposed by Ramon Juan Didiez Burgos in 1974, Keith A. Pickering in 1994
• Mayaguana, proposed by Francisco Varnhagen in 1825
• Grand Turk Island, proposed by Martín Fernandez de Navarrete in 1824, Robert Power in 1983

San Salvador Island, also known as Watling Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas. ... RAdm Samuel Eliot Morison (1887-1976), USN historian Samuel Eliot Morison, RAdm, USNR (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian, notable for producing scholarly works that were both authoritative and highly readable, an ability recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes. ... James Murdock (August 15, 1871 – May 15, 1949) was a Canadian politician. ... Samana Cay is a small island in the central Bahamas, uninhabited most of the time, and believed by some researchers to have been the location of Columbuss first landfall, on October 12, 1492. ... Gustavus Vasa Fox (13 June 1821 – 29 October 1883) was a U.S. Navy officer who served during the Civil War. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the worlds largest not-for-profit educational and scientific organizations. ... Plana Cays is an uninhabited atoll in the Bahamas. ... Keith Pickering (1955 - ) is a scientist and historian. ... Mayaguana is the most easterly island and district of the Bahamas, and one of only two which retain their Arawak names. ... A view of the southwestern beach at Grand Turk. ... Martín Fernández de Navarrete (November 9, 1765 - October 8, 1844), was a Spanish sailor and historian who rediscovered Las Casas abstract of the log Christopher Columbus made on his first voyage. ...

Other suggested candidates

• Conception Island, proposed by R.T. Gould in 1943
• East Caicos Island, proposed by Pieter Verhoog in 1947
• Cat Island, widely believed to be Guanahani until Las Casas' abstract of Columbus' log was rediscovered in 1791 and published in 1875-1876, which argued strongly against the identification ^[1] Cat Island advocates based their claims on old maps. One of the defenders of Cat Island was Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie.
• Egg Island, proposed by Arne Molander in 1981
• Lignum Vitae Cay, proposed by John Winslow in 1989

Conception Island is an islet located in the Bahamas at coordinates 23°50N latitude and 75°08W longitude. ... East Caicos is the fourth largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. ... The Turks and Caicos Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom consisting of two groups of tropical island located in the Caribbean. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cat Island is one of the central Bahamas, and one of its districts, and boasts the nations highest point. ... Exploration is the act of searching or traveling for the purpose of discovery, e. ... Alexander MacKenzie painted by Thomas Lawrence (c. ... Egg Island is an uninhabited island in the Bahamas. ... Rear Admiral John Ancrum Winslow (1811 – 29 September 1873) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. ...

Clues

Trans-Atlantic track

The first way to locate Guanahani is to follow the distances and directions Columbus gave in his log. This track leads to a point five nautical miles south of Watling Island/San Salvador. However, if ocean currents and winds are taken into account (as was attempted by Luis Marden for the National Geographic in 1986), the track leads to a point just south east of Samana Cay. If compass deviation is also taken into account, the track leads to a point south of Plana Cays, and east of Acklins Island. If erratic steering and the fact that no one knows whether the compass card was fixed to the needle accurately is taken into account all attempts at reconstructing the track from the "Diario" turn out to be meaningless. A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ... An ocean current is any more or less continuous, directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earths oceans. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Luis Marden (born Annibale Luigi Paragallo) (January 25, 1913—March 3, 2003) was an Italian-American photographer, explorer, writer, filmmaker, diver, navigator, and linguist who worked for National Geographic Magazine. ... Compass in a wooden box A compass (or mariners compass) is a navigational instrument for finding directions on the Earth. ... Acklins is an island and district of the Bahamas. ...

Lights on the evening preceding the discovery

At 10 p.m. on October 11, Columbus noticed lights "like a little wax candle, rising and falling" at the horizon. He pointed them out to other people on board, some of whom were able to see the lights, while others didn't. However, the sources of the lights themselves are of controversy. There are many theories as to what it was, with, in no particular order, most of them being UFOs, aurorae, meteors, lightning(sprites), and lastly and seen as least possible, a ground source, such as a fire. The actual landfall was about 35 miles from the location Columbus saw the lights, so if taken that the lights were from a ground-based source, then they could not have been from Guanahani, but must have been from another island. For the Plana Cays theory, the light would have been on Mayaguana. For Conception, it could have been on Cat Island, Watling/San Salvador or Rum Cay. For Caicos it could have been on Grand Turk. For Cat Island it could have been Watling/San Salvador and for Lignum Vitae Cay it could have been Eleuthera Island. is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... UFO can mean: Unidentified flying object United Future Organization, a Japanese-Brazilian electronic jazz band UFO, the rock band that previously featured Michael Schenker UFO, the Gerry Anderson TV series United Farmers of Ontario, a political party that formed the government in Ontario from 1919 to 1923 U.F.O... The term aurorae has several meanings: the plural noun of aurora Aurorae (band) are an American electronica/ psychedelic trance duo This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Photo of a burst of meteors with extended exposure time A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid that enters the Earths (or another bodys) atmosphere, commonly called a shooting star or falling star. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Look up Sprite in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Rum Cay is an island and district of the Bahamas. ... Eleuthera is an island in the Bahamas, lying 50 miles (80 km) east of Nassau. ...

Description of Guanahani

Columbus calls the island very flat with many trees. This is true for all of the proposed islands. His next statement is more problematic. He says Guanahani has "muchas aguas y una laguna en medio muy grande". The word laguna creates many problems. It is uncertain whether it means lagoon or pond. In any case, most of the proposed islands have either a lagoon or pond; only East Caicos lacks one. This mid bay barrier in Narrabeen, a suburb of Sydney (Australia), has blocked what used to be a bay to form a lagoon. ... Two people reflected in a fish pond A pond is typically a man made body of water smaller than a lake. ...

On October 14, Columbus made a boat trip to the eastern part of the island. Therefore he went the length of the island in a North-northeast direction. This is only possible on Plana Cays, Conception and Egg, and to a certain extent on Samana Cay. Columbus noticed a reef that completely surrounded the island. All proposed islands, except Cat, have a reef, but the ones on Cat and Watling don't completely surround the island. Between the reef and the island was a harbor "large enough to store all ships of Christianity." Of course this is an exaggeration, but the harbor on Egg is definitely too small. Columbus went on land and saw "a piece of land, that looked like an island, but actually wasn't one." This is difficult to track, because it may have become a real island in the past 500 years. is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... ESE also stands for Extensible Storage Engine. ... A reef surrounding an islet. ...

Island or islands

Disputed about Guanahani is the question of whether Guanahani was one island or not. Evidence is said to be contradictory. Columbus never says Guanahani consisted of several islands, something which is surely worth noting. But on reproductions of the map of Juan de la Cosa, who was with Columbus, Guanahani looks for some researchers like a string of islands. The map itself - preserved in Madrid - and recent facsimiles show that to be a mistake of the reproductions, though. Juan de la Cosa Map of Juan de la Cosa Juan de la Cosa (c. ...

References

External links

• Site of Keith Pickering, advocate of Plana Cays
• Paleogeographic evaluation furthering the Samana Cay landfall theory
• Site of Arne Molander, advocate of Egg Island