Virgin Islands National Park, 14,689 acres (5,949 hectares), St. John, Virgin Islands; est. 1956. The park, with beaches, coves, and headlands, is rich in tropical-plant, animal, and marine life. Bordeaux Mt., 1,277 ft (389 m) high, is the highest point on the island. Remains of prehistoric settlements and of Danish colonial sugar plantations are in the park. See National Parks and Monuments, table.

Virgin Islands, group of about 100 small islands, West Indies, E of Puerto Rico. The islands are divided politically between the United States and Great Britain. Although constituting the westernmost part of the Lesser Antilles, the Virgin Islands form a geological unit with Puerto Rico and the Greater Antilles; they are of volcanic origin overlaid with limestone. The islands are subject to sometimes severe hurricanes between August and October and suffer from light earthquakes. The water supply is almost completely dependent on rainfall and is preserved in cisterns; some water also comes from desalinization plants. The tropical climate, with its cooling northeast trade winds, and the picturesque quality of the islands, enhanced by their Old World architecture, have encouraged a large tourist trade. The population is predominantly of African descent and the main religion is Protestantism. English and some Spanish and Creole are spoken. The islands were first visited by Europeans when Columbus landed on St. Croix in 1493.

The Virgin Islands of the United States

The Virgin Islands of the United States (2005 est. pop. 108,700), 133 sq mi (344 sq km), are a U.S. territory. Although 68 islands comprise the group, only the three largest—St. Croix (80 sq mi/207 sq km), St. Thomas (32 sq mi/83 sq km), and St. John (20 sq mi/52 sq km)—are of importance. St. Thomas is mountainous and encloses many snug harbors and bays. Charlotte Amalie, the capital and the chief port, is on St. Thomas; it has one of the finest harbors in the Caribbean. Tourism, especially the cruise-ship trade, is the main source of income on St. Thomas. St. Croix, with less mountainous terrain, has an economy that depends in large part on tourism, but petroleum refining and manufacturing are also important. Food crops are raised; sugarcane is no longer grown, but rum is still distilled. The towns of Christiansted and Frederiksted are on St. Croix. The Virgin Islands National Park covers much of St. John. Cattle are raised on all three islands. The Univ. of the Virgin Islands has campuses on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Under a law passed in 1954, the islands are administered by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior. There is a 15-seat Senate, whose members are elected for two-year terms, and a governor, who is elected for a four-year term.

Settlement of St. Thomas was begun by the Danish West India Company in 1672; St. John was claimed by Denmark in 1683, and St. Croix was purchased from France in 1733. The islands became a Danish royal colony in 1754. In 1801, and again from 1807 to 1815, the islands were in British hands. They were purchased from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million because of their strategic position alongside the approach to the Panama Canal. Since 1927, residents have enjoyed U.S. citizenship, and since 1973 they have been represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by a nonvoting delegate. John deJongh was elected governor in 2006.

The British Virgin Islands

Immediately to the northeast of the U.S. Virgin Islands are the British Virgin Islands, a British dependency (2005 est. pop. 22,600), 59 sq mi (153 sq km). There are more than 30 islands; 16 are inhabited. The principal ones are Tortola, Anegada, and Virgin Gorda. Road Town, the capital, is on Tortola. Tourism, light industry, and offshore financial services are the most important economic activities. Britain acquired the islands from the Dutch in 1666. Granted autonomy in 1967, they are governed under the constitution of 2007. There is a unicameral House of Assembly whose 13 voting members are elected to four-year terms. The government is headed by a premier, and the monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by a governor, is the head of state.

U.S. Virgin Islands National Monument: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

British overseas territory (pop., 2005 est.: 27,200), West Indies. Part of the Virgin Islands chain, it consists of the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke and 32 smaller, mostly uninhabited islands. The chief town and port is Road Town on Tortola. The majority of British Virgin Islanders are of African or African-European descent. English is the chief language. Religion: Christianity (predominantly Protestant). The islands are generally hilly, and many have lagoons with coral reefs and barrier beaches. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy. The Virgin Islands probably were originally settled by Arawak Indians but were inhabited by Caribs by the time Christopher Columbus visited in 1493. The islands were a haunt for pirates, and Tortola was held by Dutch buccaneers until it was taken by English planters in 1666; it was annexed by the British-administered Leeward Islands in 1672. The British sugar plantations declined after slavery was abolished in the 19th century. The islands were part of the Colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872 until 1956, when the British Virgin Islands became a separate colony. Its status was changed to an overseas territory in 2002.

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Conservation area, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Covering 14,696 acres (5,947 hectares), it has steep mountains, white beaches, and coral reefs. Though most of the tree cover was removed for sugarcane cultivation in the 17th–18th century, the land has reverted to forest. Some 100 species of birds and the only native land mammal, the bat, can be found there. It has remains of Arawak Indian villages.

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