Introduction
The US claimed uninhabited Navassa Island in 1857 for its guano. Mining took place between 1865 and 1898. The lighthouse, built in 1917, was shut down in 1996, and administration of Navassa Island was transferred from the US Coast Guard to the Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs. A 1998 scientific expedition to the island described it as a "unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity." The following year it became a National Wildlife Refuge, and annual scientific expeditions have continued.
Geography
- Land
- 5.4 sq km
- Total
- 5 sq km
- Water
- 0 sq km
about nine times the size of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
marine, tropical
8 km
North America
- Highest point
- 200 m NNW of lighthouse 85 m
- Lowest point
- Caribbean Sea 0 m
18 25 N, 75 02 W
strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock with numerous solution holes (limestone sinkholes) but with enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig trees, scattered cactus
- Total
- 0 km
- Other
- 100% (2018 est.)
No
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, 30 nm west of Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti
- Google Maps
- https://goo.gl/maps/4XVes1P6uEDTz77WA
- OpenStreetMap
- https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/1216720
Central America and the Caribbean
- Exclusive economic zone
- 200 nm
- Territorial sea
- 12 nm
hurricanes
guano (mining discontinued in 1898)
Caribbean
raised flat to undulating coral and limestone plateau; ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 m high)
- UTC-04:00
- number of time zones
- 1
People and Society
- languages
- English, Dutch, Papiamento
- number of languages
- 3
- adjective
- Dutch
- noun
- Dutch
- Total
- uninhabited
Government
- geographic coordinates
- 12.14, -68.27
- name
- Kralendijk
- svg
- https://mainfacts.com/media/images/coats_of_arms/bq.svg
- alternative spellings
- BES islands
- Conventional long form
- none
- Conventional short form
- Navassa Island
- Etymology
- the flat island was named "Navaza" by sailors with the Christopher COLUMBUS expedition in 1504; the name derives from the Spanish word <em>nava</em>, meaning "flat land or level ground"
- local long form (nld)
- Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba
unorganized, unincorporated territory of the US; administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, from the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Boqueron, Puerto Rico; Haiti has claimed the island since the 19th century
- Embassy
- none (territory of the US)
the flag of the US is used
The flag of the Caribbean Netherlands features a large blue triangle at the lower fly-side corner, spanning half the flag, and a smaller yellow triangle at the opposite corner, separated by a white strip containing a black compass surrounding a red six-pointed star.
- svg
- https://flagcdn.com/bq.svg
No
the laws of the US apply
Monday
No
Economy
- code
- USD
- name
- United States dollar (USD) [$]
Communications
.bq, .nl
+599
Transportation
Right
Military and Security
defense is the responsibility of the US
Environment
some coral bleaching