Utila (Isla de Utila) is the smallest of Honduras' major Bay Islands, after Roatán and Guanaja, in a region that marks the south end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second-largest in the world. The eastern end of the island is capped by a thin veneer of basaltic volcanic rocks, erupted from several pyroclastic cones including Pumpkin Hill which forms the highest point on the island. It has been documented in history since Columbus' fourth voyage, and currently enjoys growing tourism with emphasis on recreational diving and is known as one of the world's best dive locations. The people of Utila are of African (Garifuna), English and Dutch descent. Since 2013 the entire island and its cays have been designated as a protected Ramsar site. Demographics At the time of the 2013 Honduras census, Utila municipality had a population of 3,947. Of these, 82.32% were Mestizo, 13.42% White, 2.10% Black or Afro-Honduran, 0.26% Indigenous and 1.91% others. History Archeological, historical and ethnographic evidence of the Bay Islands indicates that they were inhabited before the European's arrival in 600 AD by a pre-Columbian culture known as the Paya and now known as Pech. The Paya people may have entered Central America in the great North to South America migration in 5,000 BC, although linguistic studies indicate that the Paya may have been descendants of South American tribes. Christopher Columbus, on his fourth voyage to the new world, landed on the island of Guanaja on 30 July 1502, after encountering a small fleet of dugout canoes destined from the mainland to the Bay Islands. These vessels were filled with cotton cloth, maize, cacao, beans, copper goods and wooden swords with sharp flint edges, and on this meeting one dugout canoe carrying 25 men, women and children was captured. On land, Columbus encountered a fairly large population of Paya whom he believed to be cannibals. In 1516, licensed slavers were sent to the Islands under the authority of Diego Velasquez and captured 300, killing others who put up resistance. The slaving vessel returned to Havana harbour, Santiago de Cuba, where it was taken over by the Paya who demanded repatriation. On hearing that the Paya had been repatriated, Velasquez commissioned two ships back which then captured 400 Paya on Utila and on one of the other islands, and during this raid 100 Paya were reported to have been killed. After their capture,