Geography of the United States Virgin Islands

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location: Caribbean, islands 1100 miles southeast of Florida, 600 miles north of Venezuela, 50 miles east of Puerto Rico; between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, bordering the Virgin Islands Trough and the Anegada Passage and roughly 100 miles south of the Puerto Rico Trench

Geographic coordinates: 18°20′N 64°50′W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Islands: Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Water Island, many other islands

Area:
total: 352 km²
land: 349 km²
water: 3 km²

Area - comparative: twice the size of Washington, D.C.

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 188 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to November

Terrain: most of the islands, including Saint Thomas and Saint John, are volcanic in origin and are mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land; Saint Croix was formed by a coral reef and is flatter

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crown Mountain (Saint Thomas) 474 m

Natural resources: sun, sand, sea, surf

Land use:
arable land: 15%
permanent crops: 6%
permanent pastures: 26%
forests and woodland: 6%
other: 47% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA km²

Natural hazards: several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes; rare tsunamis

Environment - current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources

Geography - note: important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas is one of the best natural, deepwater harbors in the Caribbean; well-known beaches include Magens Bay (Saint Thomas) and Trunk Bay (Saint John); coral reefs include Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument and the Buck Island Reef National Monument; more than half of Saint John and nearly all of Hassel Island are owned by the U.S. National Park Service