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[Stockbild] Sandbank. Aerial photograph of a submarine sandbank on the Bahama Bank, an extremely shallow region of the Caribbean Sea. There are over 700 islands in the Bahamas. In some places, the water is so shallow it is possible to wade from one island to another, but there are areas where the ocean plunges down over 8 kilometres. Only about 40 of the islands are inhabited, but many others are visited by tourists. Local inhabitants use the colour of the sea to gauge how deep the water is. Water up to ten metres deep is greenish to turquoise, while deeper water has a blue shimmer. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/BERNHARD EDMAIER) === ===