Spanish Virgin Islands
Encyclopedia
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, located east of the main island of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican tourist literature uses the name Spanish Virgin Islands, but most general maps and atlases do not use this name. As part of Puerto Rico they are a territory of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but they are not part of the United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States 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 archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
, which lie to their east.
As part of Puerto Rico, they belonged to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
before the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
in 1898. Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
remains the predominant language, although English is also common.
Most general maps and atlases do not treat the group as part of the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
. However, they are geographically part of the Virgin Islands chain. They are closer to St. Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
than St. Thomas is to St. Croix
Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Formerly the Danish West Indies, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of...
, which are both part of the United States Virgin Islands.
The principal islands of the group are Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Isla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo...
and Vieques
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Vieques , in full Isla de Vieques, is an island–municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands...
, with multiple associated smaller islands and islets. Other spanish virgin islands lie closer to the PR shore. These Include: Icacos Island, Cayo Lobos, Cayo Diablo, Palominos Island
Isla Palominos (Puerto Rico)
Isla Palomino is a small island located near to the east of Puerto Rico, near the coast of Las Croabas, Fajardo.- Geography :Isla Palomino is 1.2 km long and maximally 525 meters wide, and measures in area. It reaches a height of...
, Palominitos, Island, Isla de Ramos, Isla Pineiro, Cayo Lobos. Near Culebra there is Cayo de Luis Pena (named after the second owner).
Culebras smaller island Cayo Norte is part of Culebra National Wildlife Refuge
Culebra National Wildlife Refuge
The Culebra National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. It is part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex....
. Much of Vieques is part of Vieques National Wildlife Refuge
Vieques National Wildlife Refuge
The Vieques National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Vieques in the Puerto Rico archipelago. It is part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex....
, formerly a U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
facility.