Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE LAY OF THE LAND
The U.S. Virgin Islands
Lying some 90 miles east of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands consist of three main
resort islands: St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, plus a little islet called Water Island
and several smaller islets. Their combined landmass is roughly twice the size of
Washington, D.C.
The largest of the islands is St. Croix, with 82 square miles, which is structurally
akin to the Lesser Antilles. It has the same flora and fauna as Puerto Rico.
At its widest point, St. Croix is 6 miles wide; it is also 22 miles long. Its highest
peak is Mount Eagle at 1,088 feet. The western end of the island is lush with tower-
ing fruit trees and ferns growing on the mountainside, but the eastern terrain is rocky
and arid.
A few natural harbors and protected bays grace St. Croix. In the middle of the
island are beautiful white sandy beaches. The distance between St. Thomas and St.
Croix is 40 miles.
The coasts of St. Croix are generally flat and uniform, but St. Thomas and St. John
have very irregular coastlines, broken by bays and rugged headlands. Both St. John
and St. Thomas have excellent natural harbors that provide shelter for boats against
the many hurricanes that strike the area.
The highest elevation on St. Thomas is Crown Mountain at 1,550 feet. Unlike St.
Croix, there are relatively few flat areas on St. Thomas. The island is virtually one long
ridge of hills running east and west. Its landmass is 31 square miles, and St. Thomas
is about 4 miles wide and 13 miles long. Both St. Thomas and St. John are volcanic in
origin, whereas St. Croix was formed by a coral reef, which explains why it is flatter.
Lying 4 miles off St. Thomas's East End, the small island of St. John, 7 miles long
and 3 miles wide, is virtually a national park. More than two-thirds of the island is
protected by the National Park Service. Its highest point is Bordeaux Mountain at a
modest 1,277 feet. Cruz Bay is the main town and natural harbor, but the island's
coastal areas have many fine protected bays, especially the natural harbor of Coral Bay.
The fourth island of any significant size is Water Island, less than 500 acres. It is
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miles long and 1 mile wide, and is irregular in shape, studded with many bays and
peninsulas. The highest point on Water Island is only 300 feet above sea level. The
island lies just half a mile off the southern shore of St. Thomas.
The British Virgin Islands
Lying 97km (60 miles) to the east of Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands comprise
16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands. The total landmass of the B.V.I.
is 153 sq. km (59 sq. miles), a little smaller than Washington, D.C. This subtropical
archipelago at its highest point reaches only 534m (1,752 ft.) at Mount Sage on
Tortola, also home to Road Town, the capital of the B.V.I. The other principle islands
are Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke.
The volcanic British Virgins are the easternmost extension of the Greater Antilles,
representing peaks of submerged mountains that rise up from the ocean floor.
Virgin Gorda lies 13km (8 miles) to the east of Tortola. To its north are the islands
of Mosquito and Prickly Pear. Anegada lies 24km (15 miles) to the north of Virgin
Gorda.
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