SAN SALVADOR ISLAND

also called Watling Island, or Watling's Island, one of the islands of The Bahamas in the West Indies. San Salvador is believed by many scholars to be the island of Guanahani, where Columbus made his first landing in the New World on Oct. 12, 1492. (Some scholars assert, however, that the island of Guanahani is actually Samana Cay, 65 miles southeast of San Salvador.) San Salvador is about 13 mi (21 km) long and 5 miles (8 km) wide. It was formerly called Watling's Island after a famous buccaneer. Pop. (1980 prelim.) 804. also called James Island, one of the Galpagos Islands, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 600 miles (965 km) west of Ecuador. Its relief is dominated by two volcanoes, the larger rising to 1,700 feet (520 m), that form the mass of the island's area of 203 square miles (526 square km). Originally named for England's King James II, who was previously the duke of York, the island was also formerly called York and Santiago. It served as a food cache for pirates and during the 19th century was visited by both Charles Darwin and the American novelist Herman Melville. It is noted for its flamingo colony. The island is populated by humans only on a temporary basis.