The US Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands is the name of two groups of small islands east of Puerto Rico. They lie between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. One group consists of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas islands, together with many nearby islets. This group is called The Virgin Islands of the United States. It is the easternmost U.S. possession. The other group includes Anegada, Jost van Dyke, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda islands, with their surrounding islets. It is called the British Virgin Islands. The US Virgin Islands are located approximately 1500 miles south of Miami, Florida. There are a total of forty islands in this group.
Christopher
Columbus arrived at the Virgin Islands on his second voyage to America in 1493.
The fresh beauty and untouched appearance of their hills rising from the sea
charmed him. He named the group the Virgin Islands, in memory of St. Ursula and
her 11,000 maidens.
Columbus claimed all the islands for
Spain. However, the Spaniards did not settle there. The British Virgin Islands
have been under the British flag since 1672. About that same time, Denmark
established a permanent settlement on St. Thomas. The Danes took possession of
St. John in 1717, and bought St. Croix from France in 1733. In 1917, Denmark
sold its West Indian possessions to the United States for $25 million, or about
$295 an acre.
All the Virgin Islands except Anegada and St. Croix are rugged and hilly. A few good harbors in the group make it an important trade center.
The Virgin Islands of the United States had great military importance during World War II, especially as an outpost to protect the Panama Canal. Today, the island group is a popular tourist and resort area. Congress created the Virgin Islands National Park in 1956, adding more interest in the group as a tourist center.
Charlotte Amalie (pop. 12,331), the capital and largest city in the Virgin Islands, serves as the tourist center of St. Thomas. The city's excellent harbor makes it the chief trade center of the group. Frederiksted (pop. 1,064) is a St. Croix trade center. Christiansted (pop. 2,555) is the local government center on St. Croix. The islands also have several small residential districts.
The
flag of the United States Virgin Islands, pictured above, was adopted by
Executive Order on May 17,1921.
Upon a white field between, the letters V I, an
American Eagle in yellow is displayed with the shield of the United States on
its breast. A sprig of laurel is in its dexter talon,
while a bundle of three blue arrows are in its sinister talon. The letters V I
and the three arrows are in azure blue and the blue of the shield is the blue of
the arms and flag of the United States.
A yellow breast, the official bird of the islands, perched on the branch of a yellow cedar, the official tree, appears on the seal. The three major islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands--St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas--are also represented on the seal. The seal was adopted in 1991.