The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles to the east of Puerto Rico and west of the British Virgin Islands.
Politics of the United States Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic dependency, whereby the Governor is the head of the local government, and of a multi-party system. United States Virgin Islands are an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior. Executive power is exercised by the local government of the Virgin Islands. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
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.
Charlotte Amalie, located on St. Thomas, is the capital and the largest city of the United States Virgin Islands. It was founded in 1666 as Taphus. In 1691, the town was renamed to Charlotte Amalie after Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (1650–1714), queen consort to King Christian V of Denmark-Norway. It has a deep-water harbor that was once a haven for pirates and is now one of the busiest ports of call for cruise ships in the Caribbean, with about 1.5 million-plus cruise ship passengers landing there annually. Protected by Hassel Island, the harbor has docking and fueling facilities, machine shops, and shipyards and was a U.S. submarine base until 1966. The Town has been inhabited for centuries. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493, the area was inhabited by Caribs, Arawaks, Ciboney and Taíno native peoples. It is on the southern shore at the head of Saint Thomas Harbor. In 2010 the City had a population of 18,481, which makes it the largest city in the Virgin Islands Archipelago. Hundreds of ferries and yachts pass by the Town each week.
Saint Thomas is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea which, together with Saint John, Water Island, Hassel Island, and Saint Croix, form a county-equivalent and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. The territorial capital and port of Charlotte Amalie is located on the island. In the 2010 census, the population of Saint Thomas was 51,634, about 48.5% of the US Virgin Islands total. As of the 2020 census, the population of Saint Thomas is 42,461. The district has a land area of 32 square miles (83 km2).
The U.S. Virgin Islands national soccer team, nicknamed The Dashing Eagle, is the national soccer team of the U.S. Virgin Islands and is controlled by the U.S. Virgin Islands Soccer Federation.
The U.S. Virgin Islands Soccer Association is the governing body of soccer in the United States Virgin Islands. The USVISA controls the US Virgin Islands Championship.
Anna's Retreat is a town in the administrative subdistrict of Tutu in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. As of 2006, the population was 7,600, making Anna's Retreat the second-largest town in the U.S. Virgin Islands after the territorial capital, Charlotte Amalie.
Highway 10 is a road on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Usually referred to as Center Line Road by locals, as it runs through the center of the island, Highway 10 runs from Highway 20 in Cruz Bay across St. John, entering Virgin Islands National Park along the way. Route 10 has three auxiliary routes, Highway 104, Highway 107, and Highway 108.
Highway 20, or North Shore Road, is a road on St. John.
Highway 30 is a major road on St. Thomas, USVI.
Highway 33 is a road on St. Thomas, USVI. It runs from Highway 30 near Frenchtown and takes a northerly path toward Crown Mountain. The road takes a circuitous route around the mountain; the route initially bypasses it to the west, then swings east and follows the mountain's north side. Highway 33 then intersects Highway 333, which provides access to St. Thomas' north and east sides, and it takes a southeasterly turn to meet Highway 40. Highway 33 continues east-southeast, intersecting Highway 379 before ending at Highway 35.
Highway 38 is a major road on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Starting at Highway 35 in the eastern part of Charlotte Amalie, the road runs in an east–west direction. Along its path, Highway 38 serves as the southern terminus of Highway 39 and Highway 42, and the northern terminus of Highway 32. Past Highway 42, the road turns south and runs along the eastern coast of St. Thomas. Finally, as the road turns back west near Red Hook, its designation changes to Highway 32.
The United States Virgin Islands Department of Justice is a department of the United States Virgin Islands government.
The University of the Virgin Islands Research and Technology Park (RTPark) is the first independent research and e-technology park located in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Launched in 2002, RTPark is the first government-sponsored public-private collaboration for technology development in the USVI. It was formed as a public corporation by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands and is headquartered on the St. Croix campus of the University of the Virgin Islands. The goal of the RTPark is to develop the USVI technology community to generate long-term economic growth in the islands, by serving as a center for e-commerce and technology for transaction-oriented, knowledge-based businesses.
Miss U.S. Virgin Islands is a beauty pageant in the US Virgin Islands.
The 2014 U.S. Virgin Islands gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. Incumbent Democratic Governor John de Jongh is term-limited and cannot run for re-election to a third term in office. Since no candidate received a majority in the general election, as required by the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands, a runoff was held between Donna Christian-Christensen and Kenneth Mapp, the two top vote receivers. Mapp went on to win the run off in a landslide victory, with almost 64% of the vote.
Cannabis in the United States Virgin Islands is illegal for recreational use, but possession of under 1 ounce (28 g) is decriminalized. Medical use was legalized in 2019 through a bill that passed the Senate 9–4.
The Bethlehem Soccer Stadium is an association football stadium in Upper Bethlehem, St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. The stadium is home to the US Virgin Islands national football team while the larger complex also includes the offices and technical center of the U.S. Virgin Islands Soccer Federation.
The COVID-19 pandemic in United States Virgin Islands is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was reported to have spread to the U.S. territory of the Virgin Islands with the first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 13, 2020. COVID-19 testing on the islands began on March 3, 2020, with the first three tests sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On March 13, the first case in the territory was confirmed, and the first community transmission case was identified on March 22.
