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United States Virgin Islands

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American Geography

                                     CAPTION: United States Virgin Islands


                     Flag of the United States Virgin Islands Image:AVI.png
                                   ( In detail)               ( In detail)

                  National motto: "United in Pride and Hope"
                      Image:LocationUSVirginIslands.png
   Official language                                                 English
             Capital                                        Charlotte Amalie
       Head of State                                          George W. Bush
            Governor                                 Charles Wesley Turnbull
                Area
              - Land
           - % water                                 Ranked 202nd
                                                                 346.36 km²
                                                                          1%
          Population
     - Total ( 2005)
           - Density                                 Ranked 191st
                                                    112,000 (July 2005 est.)
                                                                     354/km²
        Independence none (territory of the U.S.), Revised Organic Act of 22
                                                                   July 1954
            Currency                                       U.S. dollar (USD)
           Time zone                                          UTC-4 (no DST)
     National anthem                                    Virgin Islands March
        Internet TLD                                                     .vi
        Calling Code                                                +1 (340)

   The United States Virgin Islands are a group of islands in the
   Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands
   are geographically part of the Virgin Islands and are located in the
   Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. The U.S. Virgin Islands consist
   of the four main islands of St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, and Water
   Island, and many smaller islands. It is the only part of the United
   States where traffic drives on the left. The total land area of the
   territory is 346.36 km² (133.73 sq mi). As of the 2000 census the
   population was 108,612 .

   In Denmark, they are also referred to as The Former Danish West Indian
   Islands (De tidligere Dansk Vestindiske Øer).

History

   The Virgin Islands were originally settled by the Ciboney, Carib, and
   Arawaks. The islands were named by Christopher Columbus on his second
   voyage in 1493 for Saint Ursula and her virgin followers. Over the next
   three hundred years, the islands were held by many European powers,
   including Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, France, the Knights of
   Malta, and Denmark.

   The Danish West India Company settled on Saint Thomas in 1672, on Saint
   John in 1694, and purchased Saint Croix from France in 1733. The
   islands became royal Danish colonies in 1754, their name in Danish
   translating as Jomfruøerne. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove
   the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries, until
   the abolition of slavery by Governor Peter von Scholten on July 3,
   1848.

   For the remainder of the Danish time, the islands were not economically
   viable and significant transfers were made from the Danish state
   budgets to the authorities in the islands. An attempt to sell the
   islands to the United States was made early in the 20th century, but a
   deal proved elusive. A number of reforms in the hope of reviving the
   islands' economy were attempted, but none having great success. The
   onset of World War I brought the reforms to a close, and again left the
   islands isolated and exposed.

   During the submarine warfare phases of the First World War, the United
   States, fearing that the islands might be seized by Germany as a
   submarine base, once again approached Denmark to sell the islands to
   the United States. After a few months of negotiations a selling sum of
   $25 million was agreed. The Danish Crown may have felt some pressure to
   accept the sale, thinking that the United States would seize the
   islands if Denmark was invaded by Germany. However, at the same time
   the economics of continued possession weighed heavily on the minds of
   Danish decision makers, and a bipartisan consensus in favour of selling
   emerged in the Danish parliament. A subsequent referendum held in late
   1916 confirmed the decision to sell by a wide margin. The deal was thus
   ratified and finalized on January 17, 1917, when the United States and
   Denmark exchanged their respective treaty ratifications. The U.S. took
   possession of the islands on March 31, 1917, when the territory was
   renamed the U.S. Virgin Islands.

   U.S. citizenship was granted to the inhabitants of the islands in 1927.

Administrative divisions

   The U.S. Virgin Islands is administratively divided into 2 districts
   and subdivided into 20 sub-districts.

   The districts include: St. Croix, and St. Thomas - St. John.

   The sub-districts include: Anna's Hope Village, Central, Charlotte
   Amalie, Christiansted, Coral Bay, Cruz Bay, East End (St. Croix), East
   End (St. John), East End (St. Thomas), Frederiksted, Northcentral,
   Northside, Northwest, Sion Farm, Southcentral, Southside, Southwest,
   Tutu, Water Island, and West End.

Geography

   Trunk Bay
   Enlarge
   Trunk Bay

   The U.S. Virgin Islands are located in the Caribbean Sea and the
   Atlantic Ocean, about 50 miles east of Puerto Rico. The territory
   consists of four main islands: Saint Thomas, Saint John, Saint Croix,
   and Water Island, as well as several dozen smaller islands. The
   combined land area of the islands is roughly twice the size of
   Washington, D.C.

   The U.S. Virgin Islands are known for their white sand beaches,
   including Magens Bay and Trunk Bay, and strategic harbors, including
   Charlotte Amalie and Christiansted. Most of the islands, including
   Saint Thomas, are volcanic in origin and hilly. The highest point is
   Crown Mountain, Saint Thomas (474m). Saint Croix, the largest of the
   U.S. Virgin Islands, lies to the south and has a flatter terrain. The
   National Park Service owns more than half of Saint John, nearly all of
   Hassel Island, and many acres of coral reef. (See also Virgin Islands
   National Park, Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, Buck Island
   Reef National Monument, Christiansted National Historic Site, and Salt
   River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve.)

   The Virgin Islands lie on the boundary of the North American plate and
   the Caribbean Plate. Natural hazards include earthquakes, tropical
   cyclones, and tsunamis.

Politics

   Map of the U.S. Virgin Islands
   Map of the U.S. Virgin Islands

   The U.S. Virgin Islands are an organized, unincorporated territory of
   the United States. Even though they are U.S. citizens, Virgin Islanders
   cannot vote in U.S. Presidential elections.

   The main political parties in the U.S. Virgin Islands are the
   Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands, the Independent Citizens
   Movement (ICM), and the Republican Party of the Virgin Islands.
   Additional candidates run as independents.

   At the national level, the U.S. Virgin Islands elects a delegate to
   Congress from its at large congressional district. However, the elected
   delegate while able to vote in committee cannot participate in floor
   votes.

   At the territorial level, fifteen senators—seven from the district of
   Saint Croix, seven from the district of Saint Thomas and Saint John,
   and one senator at-large who must be a resident of Saint John—are
   elected for two-year terms to the unicameral Virgin Islands
   Legislature.

   The U.S. Virgin Islands has elected a territorial governor every four
   years since 1970. Previous governors were appointed by the President of
   the United States.

   The U.S. Virgin Islands has both a District Court and a Superior Court.
   Judges are appointed by the President and the governor respectively.

   The United States Congress has organized several local referenda to aid
   in the islands' self-determination. As with Puerto Rico, the residents
   have been given the choice of independence, status quo, or statehood;
   however, these measures have failed to attract sufficient civic
   interest or voter turn-out to produce even a noteworthy plurality, much
   less a majority, and thus the islands will retain their current
   territorial status for the foreseeable future. It is theorized that
   Puerto Rican requests for political self-determination might serve as a
   catalyst for political interest in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as
   in other American territories.

   With much controversy, these efforts by the federal government to
   normalize the unincorporated territory's status are completely
   discounted by the United Nations Committee on Decolonization, and the
   U.S. Virgin Islands are currently in the United Nations list of
   Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Economy

   Tourism is the primary economic activity. The islands normally host 2
   million visitors a year, many of whom visit on cruise ships. The
   manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textile,
   electronics, rum distilling, pharmaceutical, and watch assembly plants.
   The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported.
   International business and financial services are a small but growing
   component of the economy. Hovensa, one of the world's largest petroleum
   refineries, is located on Saint Croix.

   The islands are subject to tropical storms and hurricanes. In recent
   history, substantial damage was caused by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and
   Hurricane Marilyn in 1995. The islands were also struck by Hurricane
   Bertha in 1996, Hurricane Georges in 1998 and Hurricane Lenny in 1999,
   but damage was not as severe in those hurricanes.

Trivia

     * Three of the four U.S. Virgin Islands have nicknames often used by
       locals. St. Thomas - "Rock City", St. John - "Love City", and St.
       Croix - "Twin City"

     * Though traffic drives on the left side of the road in the U.S.
       Virgin Islands, almost all vehicles are left hand drive (as they
       are imported from the United States). See Right Hand Driving:
       Caribbean

     * Public access to beaches is considered a civil right. Public access
       over land however, is not.

     * The U.S. Virgin Islands are permanently on Atlantic Standard Time
       and do not participate in Daylight Saving Time. When the U.S. is on
       Standard Time, the U.S. Virgin Islands are one hour ahead of the
       U.S. Eastern Time Zone. When the U.S. is on Daylight Saving Time,
       the U.S. Virgin Islands follow the same clock as Eastern Time.

   Retrieved from "
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Virgin_Islands"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
