The United States Virgin Islands are a group of several dozen islands and cays located in the Caribbean, about 1,100 miles (1,770 km) southeast of Florida, 600 miles (966 km) north of Venezuela, 40 miles (64 km) east of Puerto Rico, and immediately west and south of the British Virgin Islands.
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is the only place under United States jurisdiction where the rule of the road is to drive on the left. However, virtually all passenger vehicles are left hand drive due to imports of U.S. vehicles.
A cay, also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef.
Trunk Bay is a body of water and a beach on St. John in the United States Virgin Islands. Trunk Bay is part of the Virgin Islands National Park. Trunk Bay is named for the Leatherback turtle, which is endemic to the USVI and are locally known as trunks. The beach area is divided into two halves, the main Trunk Bay beach and swim area and Burgesman Cove which is located on the west end of Trunk Bay near Jumby Bay. Its amenities include a snack bar, showers and restrooms, a lifeguard, and an underwater trail for snorkeling its coral reef. Trunk Bay has consistently been voted one of the top beaches in the world.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the territory of the United States Virgin Islands.
The Rosario Islands, also referred to as Corales Islas del Rosario, is an archipelago located off the coast of Colombia, approximately 100 kilometres from Cartagena. It is one of the 46 Natural National Parks of Colombia. The national park was founded in 1988, to protect one of the most important coral reefs of the Colombian Caribbean coast. People can visit the national park area of the islands, and tours are available. Isla Rosario has an aquarium and open-sea oceanarium (oceanario) that people can visit. Activities include swimming, snorkeling and fishing, among others.
San Andrés is a coral island in the Caribbean Sea. Politically part of Colombia, and historically tied to the United Kingdom, San Andrés and the nearby islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina form the department of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. San Andrés, in the southern group of islands, is the largest of the department. The official languages of the department are Spanish, English, and San Andrés–Providencia Creole.
The Prickly Pear Cays, sometimes spelt as Prickley Pear Cays, are a small pair of uninhabited islands about six miles from Road Bay, Anguilla, in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean. They are divided by a narrow boat channel between Prickly Pear East and Prickly Pear West. Prickly Pear Cays were classified as 'wildlands' by the "Eastern Caribbean Natural Area Management Programme" (ECNAMP). In addition, Prickly Pear Cays are one of six marine protected areas of Anguilla.
The fauna of the United States Virgin Islands consists of 144 species of birds, 22 species of mammals, 302 species of fish and 7 species of amphibians. The wildlife of the U.S.V.I. includes numerous endemic species of tropical birds, fish, and land reptiles as well as sea mammals. The only endemic land mammals are six species of native bats: the greater bulldog bat, Antillean fruit-eating bat, red fruit bat, Brazilian free-tailed bat, velvety free-tailed bat and the Jamaican fruit bat. Some of the nonnative land mammals roaming the islands are the white-tailed deer, small Asian mongoose, goats, feral donkeys, rats, mice, sheep, hogs, dogs and cats.
Île Frégate is a small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea located off the north coast of Saint Barthélemy, an overseas collectivity of France. Île Frégate is situated within the Nature Reserve of Saint Bartholomew, which was established in 1996 with the objective of conserving coral reefs, sea grass beds and marine life.
Saba Island is a rocky Caribbean island in the United States Virgin Islands, situated three miles south of the Cyril E. King Airport and 2.6 miles west of Water Island. It is a steep, 200 feet high island with a sandy beach on the northern side. Turtledove Cay is connected by a shallow sandbar. Saba Island has salt ponds on both the eastern and western sides, which is popular bird observation posts, and has numerous rocky cliffs with sea birds on its southern shores. Besides for bird observation, the island is visited by scuba divers and snorkelers. In addition to coral reefs, the waters here are home to numerous ship wrecks, such as the Witshoal II, Witconcrete II, Grainton, and Witservice IV.
Protestant Cay is a four-acre triangular islet in the Christiansted Harbor, 200 yards north of Christiansted. The island is home to a resort, the Hotel on the Cay, which is home to a protected sand beach, small shop and beach bar. It also has the closest beach to Downtown Christiansted. With one of the ferries, which run from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m., every ten minutes, it will only take about two minutes to get there. The ride is free of charge after 4 p.m., and for guests of the Hotel on the Cay. To get on the ferry, passengers have to stand near the boardwalk in front of the King Christian Hotel and wave to the boat captain on duty.
Cas Cay is a fifty-acre (200,000-square-metre) undeveloped island, situated a mile south of Red Hook on the eastern side of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. It is under the protection of the Department of Natural Resources. Ferries here depart from Compass Point Marina, right east of Nadir.
Trunk Cay is a small grass-covered islet in Trunk Bay in the United States Virgin Islands. It has an elevation of 48 feet and is situated only 200 feet from Trunk Bay Beach. It is an islet of rocky cliffs, coral sandy beaches, and palm trees. The Virgin Islands National Park Service offers underwater snorkelling trails around the cay. Trunk Cay is named for the leatherback turtle, which is found in the U.S.V.I. and is locally known as trunks.
Whistling Cay is a 19-acre (7.7 ha) islet, situated 300 yards (270 m) west of Mary Point on Saint John in the United States Virgin Islands. It is covered with trees and high cliffs in the north, where it reaches a 130-foot (40 m) elevation. A gravel beach is located on the southeast side of the island. It is separated from Saint John by the Fungi Passage, which has a depth of 21 feet (6.4 m).
Leduck Island is an island in the United States Virgin Islands, also spelled LeDuck Island, which is located 0.5 miles east of Sabbat Point in Johns Folly, separated from Saint John by the Sabbat Channel. LeDuck Island lies by the entrance to Coral Bay and is 85 feet high. Leduck Island is located within the Virgin Islands National Park and is one of the largest offshore islands to Saint John, along with Grass Cay and Congo Cay.
Henley Cay, previously known as Women's Cay, is an 11-acre tropical islet in the United States Virgin Islands. The cay is 300 yards in diameter and the largest and southernmost of the Durloe Cays in the Virgin Islands National Park. Henley Cay is situated 2,200 feet northwest of Turtle Bay on the island of Saint John, separated from the island by the Durloe Channel. The cay is 70 feet high and has a pier on its southern side, although it is uninhabited. The island is known as a snorkeling and kayaking destination, but is also visited for its white sandy beaches. Companies offer guided kayak tours from Cruz Bay, Honeymoon Bay, and Caneel Bay to Henley- and Lovango Cays.
Cinnamon Cay is a cay in the United States Virgin Islands, situated approximately 0.7 miles east of Trunk Cay in the Cinnamon Bay, and 100 yards from the shore at Cinnamon Bay Beach on Saint John island. It has a height of 32 feet. The islet is uninhabited, but regularly visited by scuba-divers, snorkelers and kayakers. Cinnamon Bay Watersports offers kayaks and snorkeling equipment for travelers to the cay. Cinnamon Cay is mostly covered with grass and cactus, and is located within the Virgin Islands National Park.
East End is an administrative subdistrict of the island of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. The largest community here is Red Hook, while smaller communities include Benner, Nazareth, Nadir, Frydendal, and Smith Bay. Some of the offshore islands here include Great Saint James Island, Little Saint James Island, Bovoni Cay, Patricia Cay, Cas Cay, Rotto Cay, Thatch Cay, Shark Island, and Dog Island. The East End subdistrict received 731 new residents between the 2000 U.S. Census and the 2010 U.S. Census, and has a 2010 population of 6,658. The East End region offers a more secluded character and less population density than subdistricts as Charlotte Amalie, Southside, and the Tutu subdistricts. This subdistrict is home to numerous of the islands’ largest resorts, in addition to many shopping areas and entertainment venues, as well as the Coral World Marine Park & Underwater Observatory in Coki Point, which is the most popular tourist attraction on Saint Thomas. East End is located about 7.4 miles east of the territorial capital of Charlotte Amalie, which is an approximately thirty-minute drive on the windy, small and narrow Saint Thomas roads. There are buses and taxis leaving from the East End. A typical fare for a taxi drive to the capital costs $20. The hotels on Saint Thomas are evenly divided between the two subdistricts of Charlotte Amalie, and the more expensive resort-style hotels by their own beachside in East End. The East End resorts are therefore generally more expensive than those found elsewhere on the island. Some of the famous beaches found here are Lindquist- and Sapphire Beaches, while others include Pineapple Beach and Vessup Beach amongst others.
