Dog Islands are a small group of islets among the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.
The islands originally received their names from sailors who heard barking when they moored there, and assumed that they must be dogs. However, the barking noises were made by Caribbean monk seals. The sailors also regarded the Caribbean monk seal as a good source of fresh seal meat, and as a result, they are now extinct.
The Dog Islands are situated about 6 miles (10 km) north east off the main island of Tortola and about 2.5 mi (4.0 km) off the north west of Virgin Gorda in the strait Sir Francis Drake Channel. The coordinates of the main islet are 18°28′96″N and 64°27′70″W.
The uninhabited islets are of volcanic origin and have a total area of about 173 acres (70 ha)
The group consist of 5 islets:
Situated west off George Dog and within the same sub-group lies the small islet Cockroach Island.
The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by Christopher Columbus in 1493 on his second voyage to the New World. Columbus gave the area the fanciful name Santa Ursula y Las Islas Once Mil Vírgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins), shortened to Las Vírgenes (The Virgins), after the legend of Saint Ursula.
Today the waters around the islets are a popular site for scuba diving (3).
West Seal Dog nowadays is a BVI National Park. [3]
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles and part of the West Indies.
The Virgin Islands are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, While the BVI is actually “The Virgin Islands”, the name is often used to refer to the entire group of Islands, with the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix being a displaced part of the same geologic structure. Politically, the British Virgin Islands have been governed as the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, and form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago is separated from the true Lesser Antilles by the Anegada Passage and from the main island of Puerto Rico by the Virgin Passage.
Virgin Gorda is the third-largest island and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI).
Norman Island is an island at the southern tip of the British Virgin Islands archipelago. It is one of a number of islands reputed to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate novel Treasure Island.
Tortola is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of 55.7 square kilometres with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in Road Town. Mount Sage is its highest point at 530 metres above sea level.
RMS Rhone was a UK Royal Mail Ship owned by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (RMSP). She was wrecked off the coast of Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands on 29 October 1867 in a hurricane, killing 123 people. She is now a popular Caribbean wreck dive site.
The coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands consists of a green escutcheon (shield) charged with a woman in a white dress and gold-coloured sandals, holding a lit golden oil lamp and surrounded by eleven other golden lamps. Adopted shortly after the islands became a Crown colony, it has been the coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands since 1960. The escutcheon dates from the early 19th century and is featured on the flag of the territory. The woman and the lamps represent Saint Ursula and her companions, the namesake of the islands.
The Spanish Virgin Islands, formerly called the Passage Islands and also known as the Puerto Rican Virgin Islands, West Virgin Islands, primarily consisting of the islands of Culebra and Vieques, are part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and are located east of the main island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean.
East Seal Dog is an uninhabited islet of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It is located in a smaller sub-group of islands referred to as the Dog Islands, or more commonly, "The Dogs". Other islets in The Dogs include Little Seal Dog Island, West Dog Island and George Dog Island, all of which are to the northwest of Virgin Gorda.
Eustatia Island is a 30-acre island of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in the Caribbean. The word "Eustatia" is a Greek derived word meaning, "good place to stay." The entire island, and a small neighboring island, Saba Rock, are under the same long term lease. The island is regularly featured and photographed for several publications and was listed as one of the top 20 most beautiful islands in the world in the December 2004 issue of Islands magazine.
Great Dog Island is an uninhabited islet of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It is located in a smaller sub-group of islands referred to as the Dog Islands, or more commonly, "The Dogs". Other islets in The Dogs include Little Seal Dog Island, East Seal Dog Island, West Dog Island and George Dog Island, all of which are to the northwest of Virgin Gorda.
Great Tobago is an uninhabited island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, located, along with sister island Little Tobago, approximately six miles west of Jost Van Dyke. The Tobagos are the westernmost of the British Virgin Islands. At 210 acres (85 ha) in size, it is surrounded by steep cliffs that also extend below the water. Since the 1990s, Great Tobago, Little Tobago islands, and nearby Mercurious and Watson Rocks are protected as part of the National Parks Trust.
Little Tobago is an uninhabited island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, located, along with sister island Great Tobago, approximately 3.6 nautical miles west of Jost Van Dyke. The Tobagos are the westernmost of the British Virgin Islands.
Little Seal Dog Island is an uninhabited islet of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It is located in a smaller sub-group of islands referred to as the Dog Islands, or more commonly, "The Dogs". Other islets in The Dogs include Great Dog, East Seal Dog and George Dog, all of which are to the northwest of Virgin Gorda.
West Dog Island is an uninhabited islet of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It is located in a smaller sub-group of islands referred to as the Dog Islands, or more commonly, "The Dogs". Other islets in The Dogs include Little Seal Dog Island, East Seal Dog Island and George Dog Island, all of which are to the northwest of Virgin Gorda.
Scrub Island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean is a part of the Lesser Antilles, a group of islands that are young volcanic or coral islands. It is home to the Scrub Island Resort Marina and Spa.
Mount Sage National Park is a protected area of the British Virgin Islands. It is named after the highest peak of the island of Tortola, Mount Sage. The Mount Sage volcanic peak rises to a height of 1,716 feet (523 m), and is thus the highest point in all of the Virgin Islands. The park is located to the southwest of the island group's capital, Road Town. The park, which includes the mountain range, extends over an area of 96 acres (39 ha). The vegetation is of semi-rain forest type. There are many trails for trekking and hiking.
The colony of the British Virgin Islands has issued its own stamps since 1866. The first Post Office was opened in Tortola in 1787. At the time postage stamps were not yet invented, and it was not until 1858 that a small supply of adhesive stamps issued by Great Britain depicting Queen Victoria were utilized by the local Post Office. These stamps were cancelled by an A13 postmark and are extremely rare so cancelled.
Atlantic Air BVI (AABVI) was an airline based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in the Caribbean which started up in 1992 with one Short 330-200 (VP-LVR) commuter turboprop aircraft. AABVI ran a service between Tortola, BVI and San Juan, Puerto Rico, with five round trip flights a day operated seven days a week. On 6 May 1993 the Short aircraft experienced an aborted take off from Tortola and ran off the end of the runway into Trellis Bay. There were no serious injuries.
Carvel Rock is an uninhabited islet of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, less than 2 acres (8,100 m2) in size. It lies at the southern edge of the archipelago, south of and roughly between Ginger Island and Cooper Island.
