Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 km (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 km (840 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1030 km (640 mi) west-northwest. It is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory, settled by England a century before the Acts of Union created the United Kingdom.
Although commonly referred to in the singular, the territory consists of approximately 138 islands, with a total area of 53.3 km² (20.6 sq. mi.). Compiling a list of these islands is often complicated, as many have more than one name (as does the entire archipelago, which, in addition to its two official names, has historically been known as "La Garza", "Virgineola", and the "Isle of Devils"). Despite the limited land mass, there has also been a tendency for place names to be repeated; there are, for instance, two islands named "Long Island", three bays known as "Long Bay", and "St. George's Town" is located on "St. George's Island" within "St. George's Parish" (each known as St. George's), whereas Bermuda's capital, the "City of Hamilton", lies in Pembroke Parish, not in "Hamilton Parish", on the largest island, "Main Island", which itself is sometimes called "Bermuda". |
