Serranilla Bank
uninhabited reef and islets in the western Caribbean Sea; contested territory, claimed by Colombia, Nicaragua and the United States
Serranilla Bank (Spanish: Isla Serranilla, Banco Serranilla and Placer de la Serranilla) is a partially submerged reef, with small uninhabited islets, in the western Caribbean Sea. It is situated about 350 kilometres (220 mi) northeast of the Punta Gorda River, Nicaragua, and roughly 280 kilometres (170 mi) southwest of Jamaica. The closest neighbouring land feature is Bajo Nuevo Bank, located 110 kilometres (68 mi) to the east.
Serranilla Bank was first shown on Spanish maps in 1510. It is administered by Colombia as a part of the department of San Andrés and Providencia. The reef is subject to a sovereignty dispute involving Colombia, Jamaica, and the United States. A previous claim by Honduras was resolved in favor of Colombia when the two countries approved a treaty establishing their maritime boundaries. Jamaica's claim was largely considered to be resolved when it established a "Joint Regime Area" with overlapping maritime boundaries in 1993, acknowledging Colombian control of Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla Bank, even though the treaty mentioned the dispute over territorial waters. On 19 November 2012, in regards to Nicaraguan claims to the islands, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) upheld Colombia's sovereignty over the bank. However, the judgment does not analyze or mention the U.S. claim over the reef.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Serranilla Bank” is uninhabited reef and islets in the western Caribbean Sea; contested territory, claimed by Colombia, Nicaragua and the United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Serranilla, Bank and uninhabited, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “uninhabited reef and islets in the western Caribbean Sea; contested territory, claimed by Colombia, Nicaragua and the United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1169008. VIAF identifies the subject as 315527700. Authority coordinates are 15.833, -79.833. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1510, 1993 and 2012.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Serranilla Bank”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Serranilla Bank primary sources, Serranilla Bank archive and Serranilla research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Serranilla Bank”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Serranilla Bank” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.