Dog Islands

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Dog Islands are a small group of islets among the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.

[edit] Geography

The Dog Islands are situated about 6 miles (10 km) north east off the main island of Tortola and about 2,5 miles (4 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 (0,7 km²).

The group consist of 5 islets:

• Great Dog Island, main islet, about 98 acres (0.41 km²)

• George Dog Island, about 15 acres (0.06 km²)

• West Dog Island, about 27 acres (0.11 km²) 1.

• and the subgroup Seal Dogs about 1,8 miles (3 km) north east off Great Dog Island with

• East Seal Dog Island, about 2,2 acres ( 0.01 km²) and

• Little Seal Dog Island (mostly called West Seal Dog), about 5.7 acres (0,02 km²) 2.

Situated west off George Dog lies the small islet Cockroach Island.

[edit] History

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 (4).

[edit] External links

• about "The Dogs"
• map of "The Dogs"
• about Seal Dogs
• about West Dog
• about dive sites at "The Dogs"

v • d • e Islands of the British Virgin Islands Anegada · Beef Island · Bellamy Cay · Buck Island · Carvel Rock · Cockroach Island · Cooper Island · Dead Chest Cay · Dead Chest Island · Diamond Cay · Dog Islands · Drowned Island · East Seal Dog Island · Eustatia Island · Fallen Jerusalem Island · Flanagan Island · Frenchman's Cay · George Dog Island · Ginger Island · Great Camanoe · Great Dog Island · Great Thatch · Great Tobago Island · Green Cay · Guana Island · Indians, The · Jost Van Dyke · Little Anegada · Little Camanoe · Little Cay · Little Jost Van Dyke · Little Seal Dog Island · Little Sisters · Little Thatch · Little Tobago · Little Wickmans Cay · Marina Cay · Mosquito Island · Nanny Cay · Necker Island · Norman Island · Old Jerusalem Island · Oyster Rock · Pelican Island · Peter Island · Prickly Pear · Saba Rock · Salt Island · Sandy Cay · Sandy Spit  · Scrub Island · Spanish Island · Tortola · Virgin Gorda · West Dog Island · Whale Rock