Tongue of the Ocean

File:Tongue of the Ocean with Andros.jpg

The Tongue of the Ocean can be seen along the east coast of Andros Island. The top of this picture is slightly east of north. Photo: NASA.

The Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO) is the name of a deep oceanic trench in the Bahamas separating the islands of Andros and New Providence.

Features

The TOTO is a U-shaped, relatively flat-bottomed trench approximately 20 miles (32 km) wide by 150 miles (240 km) long. Its depth varies gradually from 3,600 feet (1,100 m) in the south to 6,600 feet (2,000 m) in the north.

Its only exposure to the open ocean is at the northern end. Except for the northern ocean opening, the TOTO is surrounded by numerous islands, reefs, and shoals which make a peripheral shelter isolating it from ocean disturbances, particularly high ambient noise.

This channel and the Providence Channel are the two main branches of the Great Bahama Canyon, a submerged geological feature formed by erosion during periods of lower sea level. During their early history the Tongue of the Ocean and the Providence Channels were broad, relatively shallow basins flanked by growing carbonate banks. As the Blake-Bahama platform subsided, sedimentation kept pace with subsidence on the banks, but not in the basins.

See also

• Geography of the Bahamas
• Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center
• Andros Island