Simpson Bay Lagoon

Simpson Bay Lagoon
Simson Bay Lagoon The Great Pond
Simpsonbaailagune (Dutch) Grand Étang de Simpsonbaai (French)
Simpson Bay Lagoon Location in the island of Saint Martin Show map of Saint-Martin Simpson Bay Lagoon Simpson Bay Lagoon (Sint Maarten) Show map of Sint Maarten
Coordinates	18°03′07″N 63°06′32″W / 18.052°N 63.109°W / 18.052; -63.109
Primary outflows	Baie Nettlé Simson Bay
Ocean/sea sources	Caribbean sea
Basin countries	Saint Martin Sint Maarten
Designation
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Mullet Pond
Designated	23 May 2014
Reference no.	2270[1]
Surface area	1,250 hectares (3,100 acres)
Max. depth	6 metres (20 ft)
Shore length1	4.48 kilometres (2.78 mi)
Islands	Grand îlet Little Key
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Simpson Bay Lagoon (also spelt Simson Bay Lagoon, or referred to simply as The Great Pond) is one of the largest inland lagoons in the West Indies of the Caribbean. It is located on the island of Saint Martin. The border between the French and Dutch halves of the island runs across the centre of the lagoon. There are two small islands that lie in the lagoon: the larger, Grand Ilet (also known as Explorer's Island) to the north, is within the French region of Saint-Martin; the smaller, Little Key, to the south, is on the Dutch Sint Maarten side.

The lagoon is connected to the Caribbean Sea via a small channel in the north-west which flows into Baie Nettlé in Saint-Martin and another small channel in the south-east which flows into Simson Bay in Sint Maarten. Sint Maarten's airport, Princess Juliana International Airport lies close to the lagoon's southern shore.