Editor’s note: Jim Watson is the author of “Mysterious Island: Catalina”
Ask just about anyone in the world where Santa Catalina Island is and—depending on where you are and how well the person paid attention in their high school geography classes—they’re bound to say “off the coast of Southern California.”
Editor’s note: Jim Watson is the author of “Mysterious Island: Catalina”
Ask just about anyone in the world where Santa Catalina Island is and—depending on where you are and how well the person paid attention in their high school geography classes—they’re bound to say “off the coast of Southern California.”
But ask the same question in some areas of the world and you may get an entirely different response: not necessarily an incorrect response, just a different response nonetheless.
You see, we aren’t the only island in the world that goes by the name “Santa Catalina.” In fact, there are no less than four other islands around the globe graced with the same name (not to mention one or two that were formerly named “Santa Catalina”).
This isn’t surprising, given that early Spanish explorers had a tendency to assign place names according to various saints or other important figures in Catholicism. The usual practice for these explorers upon first sighting a new island or river or mountain range was to name the place after whatever saint was represented by the Catholic Calendar of Saints on that particular day. Such was the case with our Catalina Island when Sebastian Vizcaino sighted the Island in 1602 (actually the second visit by a Spanish explorer).
In addition to our names, it seems we also share a number of other traits with each other: tourism, remoteness, relatively unspoiled natural beauty (especially the undersea environs), lots of sunshine and, yes, friendly people.
Our closest “Catalina Island” neighbor is Isla de Santa Catalina, Mexico, a dry but picturesque island in the Sea of Cortez off the eastern coast of the Baja peninsula. Though officially uninhabited, this Catalina is a popular destination for sea kayakers and scientific researchers. It is home to crotalus catalinensis, one of the world’s only species of rattleless rattlesnakes and also boasts an unusual species of barrel cactus that can grow to a height of 10 feet. Isla de Santa Catalina, Mexico, is about 800 miles from our Catalina.
Our next stop, at a distance from our Catalina Island of more than 3,000 miles, is Isla Catalina off the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. Like our Catalina, this island is a popular dive destination as well as the odd cruise ship or two. Less than four square miles in size, this Catalina was named by none other than Christopher Columbus, who visited the island in 1494.
The topography of the island consists mainly of sand dunes and mangrove swamps, but the real attraction here is the submarine reefs surrounding the island and the sea life associated with them. For maritime historians, the most fascinating aspect of this island is the recent discovery of a 17th century shipwreck believed to be the Quedah Merchant, the Indian merchant vessel that was captured and commandeered by none other than Captain William Kidd. It was the seizure of the Quedah Merchant, in fact, that sent Kidd to the gallows.
From the Dominican Republic we now traipse back south to the Caribbean coast of Colombia to a Santa Catalina island in the Archipelago of San Andres. Despite belonging to Colombia, this chain of islands is actually located far to the northwest of the country proper and is geographically closer to Panama and even Costa Rica than it is to Colombia. A tiny island linked by bridge to nearby Isla de Providencia, this Catalina nevertheless boasts a population of a few hundred people, mostly a Protestant Afro-Caribbean people known as the Raizal who have showed varying levels of interest over the years in achieving independence from Colombia.
As you can imagine, the natural beauty of the place is stunning, with coconut palm-lined beaches and aquamarine coves—and not many people there to enjoy them.
Our last, and furthest, stop in our global tour of Catalina islands is the tiny Isla de Santa Catalina in the Strait of Gibralter. It is so tiny it barely made my list of “Catalina islands,” but seeing that it’s the only Catalina Island in the birthplace of the Spanish language, I thought it deserved a mention.
Although geopolitically part of Spain, the island is geologically part of North Africa and is found in the Spanish exclave of Cueta at the tip of northern Tangier. Like the rest of our Catalinas, this island relies heavily on tourism.
At 6,000 miles away from our Catalina, Isla de Santa Catalina, Spain, is the furthest of our “sister” islands.
