Santa Catalina Island is a small Colombian island in the Caribbean Sea. It belongs to the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia and is the northernmost island politically part of South America. The island has two bays: Old John Bay and Eliza Bay.
It is connected by a 100-metre (330 ft) footbridge to its larger sister Providencia Island, to the south.
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San Andrés (Islander Creole English: San Andres) is a coral island in the Caribbean Sea. Politically part of Colombia, and historically tied to the United Kingdom, San Andrés and the nearby islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina form part of the department of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina; or The Raizal Islands. San Andrés, in the southern group of islands, is the largest island of Colombia. The official languages of the department are Spanish, English, and San Andrés–Providencia Creole.
While San Andrés is located 50 km (31 mi) south of Providencia, the Colombian archipelago is approximately 750 km (470 mi) north of the Colombian mainland. This archipelago encompasses a total area of 57 km (22 sq mi), including the outer cays, reefs, atolls and sand banks, with the area of the islands being 45 km (17 sq mi). In 2000, it was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, named "Seaflower Biosphere Reserve", which not only includes the islands but also about 10% of the Caribbean Sea, amounting to a vast marine area of 300,000 km (120,000 sq mi). The purpose of this declaration is to ensure that the ecosystem, which is rich in biodiversity, is well preserved and conserved.