The island that Timothy and Phillip spend most of the novel stranded on is a small, unnamed cay in an area of the Caribbean known as the "Devil's Mouth." Timothy knows about where they are, and he informs Phillip that their island is likely not in line with any widely used shipping lanes. This will make the possibility of rescue remote. That's unfortunate in and of itself, but the island isn't exactly a lush paradise booming with enough resources to make life easier. The cay is small. It is about a mile long and a half mile wide with beautiful sandy beaches. The island is also littered with palm trees which Phillip is at first terrified to climb in order to get the coconuts. Fortunately, food is somewhat plentiful in the form of sea life; however, the absence of a fresh water source really puts some constraints on Phillip and Timothy.
When Timothy and Phillip approach the island in Chapter Six of The Cay, Timothy must describe it to Phillip, as Phillip has gone blind. Timothy describes it as a small, uninhabited island. There is a beautiful white beach and low sea-grape bushes. About twenty to thirty palm trees grow on the hill. When they land on the island in Chapter Seven, Timothy describes the cay as quite beautiful, populated with native lobsters he refers to as "langosta." After Timothy walks around the island, he tells Phillip that the only things on the island are the beach, the sea-grape bushes, the palm trees, and some little lizards. There is no fresh water source. Timothy describes the island as one mile long and one-half mile wide and says that it is shaped like a melon. The rise with the palm trees is about forty feet from the ocean.
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