Geography of the United States Virgin Islands
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Image:Virgin islands sm02.png Image:US Virgin Islands.png 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: Template:Coor dm
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Islands: Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Water Island, many other islands
Area:
total:
352 sq km
land:
349 sq km
water:
3 sq km
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 sq km
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