The surface and subsurface geology of the Exuma Cays in the central Bahama Islands records sea-level cyclicity that extends back to the Jurasssic, however the focus of this paper is the Plio-Pleistocene, since approximately 1–3 million years ago. During the 1990s, the first author surveyed a large number of the islands by boat, mapped the geology on 1:25,000 topographic maps with the aid of air photos, and more recently complemented these mapping studies using Google Earth Pro. In 1994, two 33 m cores were extracted from Norman's Pond Cay and Lee Stocking Island in the southern group of the Exuma Cays. The outcropping rocks throughout the Cays are characterized by a mix of nearly pure bioclastic and oolitic sediments and limestone units. Generally, the highstand limestone deposits are capped with lowstand terra rossa paleosols, red-stained micritic limestone, calcrete, or karst surfaces. From surface and subsurface geology, a minimum of seven stratigraphic units are recorded, yet many cycles are obviously missing. Three broad eustatic intervals are evident from the δ¹⁸O record. These are associated with the Pliocene-early Pleistocene (“PP” >1.2 Ma), Mid-Pleistocene Transition (“MPT” ∼1.2–0.7 Ma), and the mid-late Pleistocene (“MLP” ∼0.7 Ma to present). A combination of physical stratigraphy, geomorphology, paleomagnetism, and amino acid racemization (AAR) provide a general age framework for these deposits. Pliocene beds at -25 m in only one core appear to indicate slow subsidence of the Bahama Banks. An interval of prolonged bank marginal or lower sea stands of the MPT are indicated by a cluster of dense, clayey red paleosols. Many MLP rocks on the islands and in the cores retain sufficient amino acids to establish a relative chronology for the MLP. The geomorphic and stratigraphic succession from the Exumas shows very rapid progradation of the over-steepened bank margin toward Exuma Sound by several km since the Plio-Pleistocene. The purpose of this paper is to: 1) characterize the geology of the existing Exuma rocks and cays; 2) demonstrate the shallow-subsurface stratigraphy in two 33-m long cores; and 3) provide some examples of how the Exuma Cays and their margins have evolved over the past 1–3 million years.