BERMUDA

self-governing British colony in the western North Atlantic Ocean. It is an archipelago of 7 main islands and about 170 additional (named) islets and rocks, situated about 650 miles (1,050 km) east of Cape Hatteras (North Carolina, U.S.). Bermuda is neither geologically nor spatially associated with the West Indies, which lie more than 800 miles (1,300 km) to the south and southwest. The archipelago is about 24 miles (40 km) long and averages less than 1 mile (1.6 km) in width. The main islands are clustered together in the shape of a fishhook and are connected by bridges. The largest island is referred to as Main Island (14 miles long and 1 mile wide). The Peak, at 259 feet (79 m) on Main Island, is the highest point. The capital is Hamilton. Pauline Heaton George J. Rushe Additional reading George Rushe, Your Bermuda (1995), is a comprehensive, fact-filled guide. Wolfgang Sterrer and Christine Schoepfer-Sterrer (eds.), Marine Fauna and Flora of Bermuda (1986), provides representative coverage. Historical works include Terry Tucker, Bermuda: Today and Yesterday, 15031973 (1975), a popular overview; Wilfred Brenton Kerr, Bermuda and the American Revolution: 17601783 (1936, reissued 1969); and Henry C. Wilkinson, Bermuda from Sail to Steam: The History of the Island from 1784 to 1901, 2 vol. (1973). Further resources may be found in A.C. Hollis Hallett, Bermuda in Print: A Guide to the Printed Literature on Bermuda, 2nd ed. (1995).