40 Facts About Bonaire

Bonaire is a Dutch island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea.

Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.

Klein Bonaire has low-growing vegetation including cactus, with sparse palm trees near the water and is bordered by white sandy beaches and a fringing reef.

Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution in 2010, when the island became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands.

Name 'Bonaire' is thought to be derived from the Caquetio word 'Bonay, meaning 'low country'.

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De La Cosa's Mappa Mundi of 1500 shows Bonaire and calls it Isla do Palo Brasil or "Island of Brazilwood".

Bonaire brought back some of the original Caquetio Indian inhabitants to Bonaire and Curacao.

The Spaniards thought that Bonaire could be used as a cattle plantation worked by natives.

Students on Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire were taught predominantly in Spanish until the late 18th century when the British took Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire; the teaching of Spanish was restored when Dutch rule resumed in 1815.

Politically Bonaire formed part of the Netherlands Antilles from 1954 to 2010; it is a special municipality within the Netherlands.

Bonaire retained its own unique culture while residents enjoy the same rights as Dutch citizens, including the right to vote in Dutch parliamentary elections in the Netherlands.

The shoreline of Bonaire is dotted with lagoons and inlets, the largest of which is Goto Lake in the north.

Bonaire is fringed by a coral reef which is accessible to divers from the shore along the lee side of the island .

Bonaire is famed for its flamingo populations and its donkey sanctuary.

Bonaire is home to one of only four nesting grounds for the Caribbean flamingo.

Bonaire is home to the ecologically vulnerable yellow-shouldered amazon parrot, Amazona barbadensis.

Island of Bonaire has long been a leader in nature conservation and ecological responsibility.

Bonaire gets a significant amount of its electricity from an array of twelve wind generators along its northeastern coastline which began operating in 2010.

Bonaire National Marine Park is a legally protected underwater park surrounding the entire island and Klein Bonaire.

Red flamingos feed there; Bonaire has one of the largest flamingo populations in the world.

Bonaire will continue to actively protect the flamingo, the symbol of the island.

Geology of Bonaire is dominated by gently dipping carbonate rocks ranging in age from Cretaceous to Miocene, which lie unconformably on a pre-Cretaceous igneous basement.

Bonaire's announced referendum scheduled for 26 March 2010 was canceled in February 2010.

The Bonaire site is both a House of Detention and a Judicial Institution.

Bonaire's economy is mainly based on tourism, taking advantage of its warm, dry climate and natural environment.

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Bonaire has been widely recognized for many years in the diving community as one of the world's best shore diving destinations.

Bonaire is a port of call for more than fifteen cruise lines who make more than eighty calls per season at the island.

Tourism infrastructure in Bonaire is contemporary and offers a variety of types of accommodations including hotels, full-service resorts, a few small bed and breakfasts and self-catering vacation rentals of all kinds.

Bonaire Petroleum Corporation is a fuel oil storage and transshipment terminal on Bonaire.

The climate and soil conditions on Bonaire are not very favourable for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables of any size.

Star on Bonaire's flag has six points, representing the six original settlements.

Bonaire is predominantly Roman Catholic, and there are Protestant minorities.

Ecclesiastically, the churches on Bonaire depend on the Catholic diocese of Willemstad on the neighboring island of Curacao.

Bonaire is a polyglot society, with most of Bonaire's population able to converse in at least two of the languages of Papiamento, Dutch, English and Spanish.

Bonaire residents participate in numerous sporting events, including all the popular sports that attract tourists to the island such as scuba diving, sailing, fishing, boating, windsurfing, kite surfing, biking, baseball, association football, volleyball and tennis.

Bonaire hosted the PWA Bonaire World Cup 2014 and the 10th Prokids IFCA Championship 2014 at Lac Bay in Sorobon on the east side of the island.

Bonaire Football Federation is a member of CONCACAF and the Bonaire Volleyball Federation is an associate member of CAZOVA and NORCECA.

Bonaire was confirmed as the 218th Table Tennis National association.

Bonaire has two island radio stations that broadcast general information: Bon FM and Radiodifucion Boneriano.

Residents of Bonaire receive some of Venezuela's main national television channels, all primarily in Spanish.