Quita Sueño Bank
Colombian reef formation in the western Caribbean Sea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Quita Sueño Bank (claimed as Quitasueño) is a reef formation controlled by Colombia and within the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. The United States, under the Guano Islands Act, claimed the reef in 1869, and retained its claim until 1981. The United States constructed a lighthouse in 1919.
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Landsat image of Quita Sueño Bank | |
  Quita Sueño Bank  Quita Sueño Bank | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Caribbean Sea |
| Coordinates | 14°19′N 81°10′W |
| Administration | |
History
In 1869, James Jennett claimed the bank for the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856.[1] An agreement between the United States and Colombia on 10 April 1928 left the area under American control.[2][3] On 8 September 1972, the United States and Colombia signed a treaty in which the United States renounced its claims to the Quita Sueño Bank, Roncador Bank, and Serrana Bank. The United States regarded Quita Sueño Bank as having no emergent land and thus ineligible for the basis of a sovereignty claim.[3] The treaty came into effect on 17 September 1981.[4]
In the northern part of the eastern reef is Quita Sueño Light.[5][6][7] The location is named Cayo Quitasueño on the government nautical chart at 14°28′57.2298″N 81°7′39.7632″W.[8][9] The light is erected on top of a square platform.[10] A lighthouse at this location had originally been established by the United States in 1919. The current structure, erected in 1977, is now called Faro Quitasueño Norte. In 2008, a second lighthouse, Faro Quitasueño Sur, was established in the southern part of the reef at 14°09′17″N 81°9′40″W.[11]
Nicaragua also had a claim to the bank. On 19 November 2012, the International Court of Justice upheld Colombia's claim to Quitasueño, plus a 12-NM territorial zone, and re-defined Nicaragua's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), thus surrounding the island bank.[12][13][14] It deemed one of the bank's 54 features to be an island at high tide eligible for a sovereignty claim (elevation 70 cm, area 1 m2)[15] and created enclaves as an equitable solution.[16] The area of the bank, excluding the 12-mile zone, is ~290 km2.[17]