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Cayman Islands Facts & Worksheets

The Cayman Islands is an archipelago in the Caribbean and part of the United Kingdom's overseas territories.

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The Cayman Islands is an archipelago in the Caribbean and part of the United Kingdom‘s overseas territories. It is comprised of the islands of Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. The Cayman Islands have some of the world’s best beaches.

See the fact file below for more information on the Cayman Islands or you can download our 28-page Cayman Islands worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

  • It is believed that the Cayman Islands were discovered by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 1503, during his final voyage to the Americas. He named the Cayman Islands ‘Las Tortugas’ due to the many turtles inhabiting the islands.
  • In the succeeding decades, the islands began to be referred to as the Caymans since many of the caimans are present there. 
  • Caimans are relatively small-sized crocodiles with an average maximum weight of 6 to 40 kg (13 to 88 lb), depending on the species.
  • In 1586, Sir Francis Drake‘s fleet of 23 ships reached Grand Cayman and stayed for two days. Although the island was uninhabited, it was home to crocodiles, alligators, iguanas, and countless turtles.
  • In 1670, Spain recognized England‘s authority over Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, including Cayman, under the Treaty of Madrid.
  • In 1700, a permanent settlement had most likely begun, with a few families, notably the Bodden’s, residing on Grand Cayman. In 1835, Governor Sligo of Jamaica arrived in Cayman to proclaim all slaves free under the 1833 Emancipation Act.
  • In the 1940s, The George Town Hospital and Barclays, Cayman’s first commercial bank, opened. In 1962, Cayman decided to remain a Crown Colony upon Jamaica’s independence from the United Kingdom, with an administration reporting directly to Westminster.
  • In 1972, The Cayman Islands adopted a new constitution that granted them autonomy over most internal problems.
  • In 1983, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II made her first visit to the Cayman Islands. 

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

  • The islands are primarily low-lying, other than Cayman Brac, which has a central bluff that makes up 90% of its surface.
  • The coasts of the Cayman Islands are Ironshore (limestone margin with abundant marine fossils) intermingled with sandy beaches and surrounded by coral reefs.
  • On the other hand, the Cayman Islands are situated on the tectonic plate border, with one migrating eastward and the other westward; small earthquakes caused by plate movement have been observed.
  • The biggest and most populated island, Grand Cayman, is 35 kilometers long and 13 kilometers broad at its widest point, with a total area of 197 square kilometers.
  • The second biggest island in the group is Cayman Brac, located about 143 kilometers northeast of Grand Cayman. It is roughly 19 kilometers long, 1.6 kilometers wide, and has the greatest height in the group, rising to 42 meters. It covers 36 square km.
  • The minor island is Little Cayman, located 8 kilometers west of Cayman Brac. It is 16 kilometers long, with a maximum width of 3 kilometers and a total area of 26 square kilometers. Rivers do not exist on this island.
  • A 93 square kilometer sound on Grand Cayman serves as a breeding place for various marine creatures.
  • Furthermore, the climate of the Cayman Islands is tropical marine. The months from May to October usually are warm and rainy summers. Meanwhile, from November to April, there are cool and relatively dry winters.
  • The highest point of the Cayman Islands is Southwest of the Bluff on Cayman Brac, 50 meters above sea level.
  • The islands are located between Jamaica and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, south of Cuba and northeast of Honduras.

TOURISM AND ECONOMY

  • Banking and tourism are the main sources of revenue for the Cayman Islands.  They have the Caribbean’s highest per capita income.
  • Because there are no direct taxes and banking rules are typically liberal, the Cayman Islands are known as an offshore banking center.
  • However, hundreds of banks and trust firms are registered in the Cayman Islands, including most of the world’s top 50 banks, making it one of the world’s major financial centers.
  • On the Cayman Islands, clerical and service employment, as well as construction trades, are the most common vocations. Agriculture employs just a tiny percentage of Caymanians, and most of the island’s food (90%) is imported.
  • The tourist industry caters mostly to travelers from North America and targets the luxury market. In 2016, total visitor arrivals surpassed 2.1 million, with more than three-quarters coming from the United States.

CREATURES

  • The Cayman Islands’ primary residents were turtles. Overfishing has drastically reduced their numbers, but efforts in the Cayman Turtle Centre and international legislation protected them from extinction.
  • Despite not being as lush as some of their Caribbean neighbors, the Cayman Islands are home to a diverse range of wildlife, including a number of indigenous and protected species.
  • Green (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles were historically present in the Cayman Islands. Furthermore, The Cayman Islands are home to three different types of iguanas.
  • They include the Blue Iguana found in Grand Cayman and Sister Islands Rock Iguana found in Little Cayman, which is endangered. The last type, the green iguana, are invasive species.
  • For instance, Sister Islands Rock Iguanas appear to be doing well in Little Cayman, where around 2000 of them are.
  • In Little Cayman, iguanas have the right of way on the highways.
  • The Cayman Islands are named after the formerly-common crocodile populations that once thrived there. Because they are abundant in the fossil record, it suggests that early sailors (who named the islands after crocodiles) were also responsible for their demise.
  • The American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, and the Cuban crocodile, Crocodylus rhombifer, are both native to the Cayman Islands. While both species can withstand some salt water, they are not to be confused with Crocodile Dundee’s notorious “Saltwater crocodile.”

SIGNIFICANT FLAGS

  • The public had input in designing the coat of arms, and Queen Elizabeth II approved it on May 14, 1958.
  • The flag was adopted in 1959, shortly after the coat of arms.
  • A shield, a crested helm, and the motto make up the Cayman Islands coat of arms.
  • In the coat of arms shield, three green arms signify the islands.
  • The wavy blue and white bars on the coat of arms’ shield evoke the sea.
  • The gold lion against the red background in the third top of the coat of arms’ shield represents Great Britain.
  • The turtle on top of the coat of arms’ shield represents Cayman’s seafaring past.
  • The coat of arms’ blue and white rope represents the Island’s traditional thatch-rope industry.
  • The pineapple above the turtle in the coat of arms’ represents the Cayman Islands’ ties with Jamaica.
  • The islands’ motto underneath the shield in the coat of arms’,” He hath founded it upon the seas.” is from Psalms 24, and it acknowledges Cayman’s Christian heritage.
  • The Cayman Islands flag consists of a British blue ensign with the Cayman Islands coat of arms on the fly.

Cayman Islands Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about the Cayman Islands across 28 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about the Cayman Islands, which is an archipelago in the Caribbean and part of the United Kingdom’s overseas territories.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Cayman Island Facts 
  2. Island Match
  3. Historical Figures Visit!
  4. Islanders Pride
  5. #Indigenous_Animaliart
  6. Island Truth
  7. Mapping the Caribbean
  8. Updating the Islands
  9. The Tourist
  10. Finding Economic Facts
  11. AWARENESS Act

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Link will appear as Cayman Islands Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, December 8, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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