Islands I 29.9/5:157 ill WJ .44 fo* a*. m =**.., 4£ Allegory of Europe supported by Africa and America William Blake, circa 1790. U.S. Virgin Islands A Guide to National Parklands in the United States Virgin Islands Produced by the Division of Publications Harpers Ferry Center National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. Five National Park System units help preserve the natural resources and history of the U.S. Virgin Islands. This handbook offers you insight into these islands' marine and terrestrial ecosystems and human histories. The pro- tected natural landscapes and marine areas of the islands are of great significance to the whole of the western hem- isphere, particularly for sea turtles, neotropical songbirds, and other migratory species. Island reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests serve as nurseries and homes for many ocean-going species. National Park Handbooks are published in support of National Park Service management programs and to pro- mote understanding and enjoyment of the more than 380 units of the National Park System, which preserve impor- tant parts of our nation's natural and cultural heritage. Handbooks are sold at parks and can be purchased by mail from Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Govern- ment Printing Office, Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402- 0001, or at bookstore.gpo.gov on the Internet. This is handbook number 157. MET 1+& Part 1 The U.S. Virgin Islands Caribbean Setting 8 Part 2 St. Thomas: Getting Your Island Bearings 30 Part 3 St. John: Virgin Islands National Park and Coral Reef 46 Part 4 St. Croix: Christiansted And Salt River Bay 74 Part 5 Buck Island Reef: Underwater Trail 102 ' . %* kI .< / Parti \ GUM /- / c o c 7 iLlif Of jnduras V\0NDU/?4 5 ^ .:. 1 c 'it °0 ^ yL ^ ^^KftiiKtf^^^^B Cayman Isle ^ v- I The U.S. Virgin Islands Caribbean Setting ATLANTIC OCEAN £fa* ^ St Martin/ O StMaarten St-Barthetemy Tortola Anguilla Barbuda '& Antigua -y -Z- Montserrat xj Guadeloupe C/> />^ Dominica Martinique Q St Lucia ~Z~ Barbados < —1 St Vincent co -^&£ -:v«/^_ £*> Caribbean Sea and U.S. Virgin Islands: Quick Facts The U.S. Virgin Islands are part of the northeastern West Indies, the island arc between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. To their northeast lie the British Virgin Islands. West, across the Virgin Passage, are the islands of Culebra, Vieques, and Puerto Rico—together a self-governing U.S. com- monwealth. The Virgin Islands use Atlantic Stand- ard Time all year. Size and Deepest Point The Caribbean Sea covers about 750,000 square miles. The Cayman Trench, be- tween Cuba and Jamaica, is 22,788 feet below sea level. Character Caribbean Sea water is less salty than Atlantic Ocean water. The current runs clockwise. Volcanism and earthquakes are common in the region. European, East Indian, and American lan- guages and many blends of them, some influenced by African tongues, are spoken in the Caribbean. Local cus- tom in the US. Virgin Islands is to greet strangers with "good morning" or "good afternoon." Climate Year-round daytime temper- atures range in the 80s°F, 70s at night; summer days are commonly in the low 90s. Average annual rainfall is 45 inches. Rains are more likely in May and September through October. Water temperatures range from 78°F to 85 throughout the year. Hurricane season, June 1 to November 30, peaks in September and October. Travel Savvy The U.S. dollar is used in the US. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Postal rates are the same as mainland U.S. Postal Service rates. Customs: U.S. citizens are allowed $1,200 in duty- free purchases from the US. Virgin Islands but check cur- rent limits before you buy. Documents Proof of citizenship (pass- port, birth certificate with seal, or voter registration card) is needed for U.S. citi- zens on departing the U.S. Virgin Islands. Passports are not required for travel by U.S. citizens between the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Passports are required for U.S. citizens traveling between the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Brit- ish Virgin Islands nearby. N\. - A globe made in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1492 showed Earth as Columbus believed it to be. Opposite:A young snorkeler explores Great Lameshur Bay off St. John. 11 HP Where People, Worlds, And Continents Meet Captured from above Whist- ling Cay off northern St. John, this view of Francis and Maho bays—backed by forested mountains topped with puffy clouds—might be mistaken for a landscape architect's model ofparadise. Preceding pages: Snorkelers swim off a Buck Island beach (contents pages), and islanders celebrate their annual, colorful Carnival (pages 4-5). Native to these islands, the iguana is listed as endangered by the Virgin Islands government, largely because ofpoaching and automobile traffic (pages 6- 7). Yearly, the Rolex Regatta attracts sailors to compete off St. Thomas and St. John (pages 12-13). Cover: Coral reefs are living organisms. They hug sun- struck shallows of seawater around the equator and are often linked ecologically to shallow-water mangrove and seagrass communities. Together these are among Earth 's most biologically complex and diverse ecosys- tems. Long-time monitoring of coral reefs in the Virgin Islands confirms other evi- dence that coral reefs are deteriorating worldwide. Worlds once met here in the Caribbean. So many peoples have met and still meet here that the region has been described as "an ethnic salad of native Indian, East Indian, African, and European ingredi- ents." Oceanic plates actively converge here, too. This region's rich biological diversity is both natu- rally surprising and unnaturally threatened. "I think that the Caribbean Sea does not enclose . . ." writes Edouard Glissant, "It does not impose one culture, it radiates diversity." Advertising paints the region as strips of sandy beach at the end of airplane flights or on a cruise- ship shore call. Its images of the Caribbean suggest oversimplification instead of this region's diversity. The actual U.S. Virgin Islands are real places and home to people with real histories. These islands also support, shelter, and harbor diverse natural niches: from coral reefs to a mountain-deep sea trench, from tropical forests to semi-arid headlands. Even the beaches boast diversity, ranging from coral sands to rocky cobbles. The U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, and Buck Island today host five units of the National Park System: Buck Island Reef National Monument, Christiansted National Historic Site, Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Eco- logical Preserve, Virgin Islands National Park, and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument. This book will help you explore these real places, engage their rich stories, and visualize them for yourself. They are part of our collective national heritage that Congress has set aside for permanent protection. That the Caribbean Sea "does not enclose" is no mystery. The great island arc or archipelago of which the U.S. Virgin Islands are a part defines the sea's eastern edge. Known as the West Indies or Antilles, these often-volcanic islands separate the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico from the open Atlantic Ocean, curving 2,500 miles from the 15 How the Northern Atlantic Ocean Works Trade winds and westerlies are glo" the northern Atlantic Ocean, trade wind: northeast and westerlies from the "southwest. Earth's rotation bends them away from north-south paths: W and cold ocean currents describe similar movement, prevailing winds can drag surface waters. These for distribute heat from the equator and c< from the pol making more of Earth habitable. Trade v the Virgin Islands' tropical climate NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN Plate Several large plates make up Earth's crust. They float on molten matter below. The eastern Caribbean is geolog- ically unstable because the Atlantic, Caribbean, and North American crustai plates meet here. Mild earthquake tremors average one per day on St. John. CENTRAL AMERICA SOUTH AMERICA )t. 25, 1989 jgo dissipates E U R O R E^ - V- PREVAILING WESTERLY WINDS '-* 35° fo 60° North latitude r L ANTIC OCEAN HORSE LATITUDES Light variable winds 25° to 35° North latitude i AFRICA NORTHEAST / TRADE WINDS / 5° to 30" North latitude Sahara Desert dust rides the trade winds to the Caribbean and Central America. DOLDRUMS Light variable winds 5° North to 5° South latitude w-!«® &ff& 9 Sept. 9, 198! Hugo forms Hurricanes form as far away as West Africa— as Hugo did, devastating the Virgin Islands in 1989. Tropical storms have winds from 39 to 74 mph; hurricanes have winds more than 74 mph. Decade-long hot or dry periods in West Africa influence how frequently hurricanes occur in the Caribbean. North of the equator, hurricane winds move counterclockwise. History Followed Nature's Pathways Commerce between Europe, Africa,; flowed clockwise at first, with the wind shown on the previous pages. The trade winds wer for their role in sailing-ship days. By the Denmark picked up slaves in West Afric ^r sale in Virgin Islands. The islands exported mostly sugar, rum molasses, cotton, and hardwoods. Until I Denmark o its slave trade in 1803, Danish ships car manufactured goods and rurr£to Africa, the Caribbean, and the islands' exports Other trade flowed between fsurope? Indies, and Charleston, New^York, oi NORTH AMERICA Charleston^ Savannah #JP Bermuda '<', GULF OF MEXICO Yucatan Peninsula U*2 December 3, 1493 Columbus returns to Cadiz, Spain NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN The Panama Canal was built by the United States from 1904 to 1914. World War I persuaded the United States to purchase the Danish West Indies— now the U.S. Virgin Islands—from Denmark for $25 million for the strategic protection of the canal. CENTRAL AMERICA S£a Panama Canal ' .w S" Barbados moved north America in t" arly*1400s. They conqu le'Taino Indians and later gave their name to the region. S O U T H fA ME RICA Slaves were acquired by Danish ships at any of five slaving forts along the coast of Guinea, now Ghana. Up to 25 or 30 percent of this human cargo usually died in passage. Mmf^ilnWIifWrJ-'' Hugo Moolenaar has been described as "a cultural entre- preneur. " Best known for re- viving the cultural tradition of the Mocko Jumbi, who walks on stilts, he also helped revive the former plantation harvest festival as Carnival on his native St. Thomas. Opposite:A St. Thomas pro- duce market stall hints at the great globalization offood plants that commenced when Columbus linked two old worlds as a new one. His sec- ond voyage, in 1493, sparked the Columbian Exchange—of peoples, cultures, plants, ani- mals, and, unfortunately, dis- eases—between formerly iso- lated worlds. One of the goals of today's Territorial govern- ment is to make the Virgin Islands more self-sufficient in food production. Venezuelan coast northward and westward to near Florida. Three groups of islands make up the West Indies Archipelago: the Greater and Lesser Antilles, southern Dutch or Netherlands Antilles, and Venez- uelan Islands. The U.S. Virgin Islands are part of the Lesser Antilles (meaning "smaller," not "less impor- tant"). Within the Lesser Antilles the U.S. Virgin Islands are part of the Leeward Islands, to whose southeast lie the Windward Islands. However, atlases offer no absolutes on the matter of these names. They were affixed not by native peoples but by wind-borne foreign navigators and ships' chart-makers. On a pottery shard-strewn shore at Salt River Bay on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix, time itself bakes in the tropical sun. Stare northwestward to the watery horizon and you may imagine this sea's namesake Carib Indians paddling their log canoes the 90 miles to Puerto Rico to help attack the Spanish there in 1511. The Caribs had wrested con- trol of today's St. Croix from the Tainos (tye-ee- nos) in the early 1400s and would themselves later sink under the onslaught of the Spaniards. What intimate knowledge of these sun-splashed islands vanished with the disappearance of the Tainos and Caribs? What nautical knowledge disappeared for- ever—clues as subtle as changes in wavelet patterns, or how the water may reflect light to give paddlers a sense of direction when only open water offers a horizon? A remnant earthwork fort at Salt River Bay marks how European nations fought for colo- nial footholds here in the 17th century. History runs as deep as the tropical forest shade, as colorful as plumage, as varied as the cultures now burnished in tropical beauty here. There are manifold attractions: colorful comminglings of blue waters and narrow, often white strands of coral-sand beaches. Inside forests, lacy sunlit patterns filtered by the layers of leaves drip golden through dense vegetation. It would always be hot and humid here but for the trade winds that wafted Columbus westward across the Atlantic. They moderate this tropical cli- mate for a mean annual temperature of 79°F. These winds that carried trade bring hurricanes as well. They also carry Sahara Desert dust that settles on islanders' household furniture. The globalization of 20 'JfA ^ Guy Benjamin was the first St. John resident to graduate from Charlotte Amalie High School on St. Thomas. With degrees from Howard and New York universities, he has had a distinguished career as an educator. He has docu- mented the old ways of daily life on St. John. His books include Me and My Beloved Virgin and More Tales from Me and My Beloved Virgin. cultures that Columbus came to symbolize followed nature's pathways after all. Tremors and trenches underscore the theory of plate tectonics—that great slabs of Earth's crust float atop the planet's semi-molten outer or mantle layer. Eons ago, all these tectonic plates—six major and some minor ones—were joined as the super- continent Pangea, all or whole Earth. Where the crustal plates meet and grind against each other, as three do in the Caribbean, earthquakes and volca- noes occur. Indeed, the island of St. John averages 30 minor earthquake tremors per month. Both St. Thomas and St. John were formed by vol- canoes and rise steeply from sea level, so they have narrow beaches. Steepness made those islands less profitable for agriculture than flatter St. Croix as the importance of sugar cultivation grew. St. Croix and Buck Island were formed by uplift, from tecton- ic pressures, not by volcanism. Largest of the U.S. Virgins, St. Croix remains more amenable to agri- culture. The Caribbean Sea is formed of two major basins and has many volcanic neighbors. Just north of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and North American plates grind together, causing earthquake tremors and the 28,374-foot-deep Puerto Rico Trench. Off St. Croix's north coast a trench-like deep plunges 13,000 feet where the South American and Carib- bean plates meet: St. Thomas and St. John mark the southernmost tip of the North American continent, and St. Croix and Buck Island mark the northern- most tip of the South American continent. Tecton- ically speaking, the U.S. Virgin Islands are diverse and intercontinental. So are its people—even more so. Over 4,000 years ago migratory Archaic peoples began traveling up the Antillean chain from South America. They left evidence of their culture on St. Croix and migrated north and west as far as Puerto Rico 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. About 2,000 years ago they seem to have disappeared, to be replaced by the Igneri, who were pottery makers and St. Croix's first agriculturalists. After many centuries the Tainos or Island-Ara- waks settled on St. Croix, which they called Ayay. They, too, came north from the northern Amazon and Orinoco river basins in South America. Less than 100 years before Columbus ventured to the 22 Caribbean, its namesake Island-Caribs, pottery makers as well, moved into the Lesser Antilles and St. Croix, subjugating the Tainos. At Salt River Bay in 1493, Columbus's men encountered Caribs and their Taino slaves. Collectively, Caribs, Tainos, and their predecessors had lived here for thousands of years with less environmental and cultural impact than these islands have sustained in the past 400 years, even though Columbus noted in his log book the extensive cultivation on St. Croix. Each Caribbean island has a distinct cultural her- itage. Today 85 percent of U.S. Virgin Islands resi- dents are people of color. Those of African descent mostly originated in the Gold Coast region of West Africa. Hispanic residents largely have come from Puerto Rico (including Vieques and Culebra) and the Dominican Republic. Most Caucasians have come from the United States, but a small percent- age descend from European colonial families. Some anthropologists suggest that all humans originated in Africa, so perhaps we were merely brought back together here in the Caribbean. Indeed, as historian Arnold R. Highfield has written, 1492 "marked the beginning of the end of the movement of human- kind" away from Africa. From the late 1800s through about 1960 the popu- lation of St. John was 600 to 700 people; today it is more than 3,500. The populations of St. Thomas and St. Croix have almost quadrupled in that time. De- spite the pressures confronting them, among areas under the U.S. flag these islands are remarkable for their ethnic and cultural diversity. The mission of the National Park Service in the Virgin Islands is to help preserve the natural and cultural heritage of five protected areas. Together with territorial and other federal agencies, the Na- tional Park Service works to combine preservation with restoration, stewardship, and sustainable living. We invite you to share and spread our vision of pre- serving the richness of this heritage for the future. We want to be good and enduring neighbors—to these islands' history and diverse cultures, to you, and to this fascinating natural world of land and sea and air. Leona Watson of St. Croix is a cultural story teller and one of the leading proponents of the West African song form cariso. Like the later West Indian calypso form, cariso provided social commentary and satire by telling stories based on people and events. These are usually set in the plantation era, both before and after the emancipation. Pages 28-29: Coral reefs cover only 360,000 square miles world-wide but host one quarter of all ocean species. Only tropical rain- forests rival some Pacific Ocean coral reefs for their biological diversity. Coral reefs of these U.S. Virgin Islands, much younger than many of their cousins in the Pacific and Indian oceans, are crucial to the biological diversity of the Caribbean. 23 Timeline: U.S. Virgin Islands The story of today's Virgin Islands begins with the tempest of our planet's geological past. The form of many major and 50-some lesser U.S. Virgin Islands originated in vol- canism. Yet volcanic islands such as St. Thomas and St. John were also uplifted by movements of the crustal plates that form Earth's surface. Rising and falling sea levels in more recent geological time have caused these islands sometimes to join together, sometimes almost to disappear. Archeolog- ical work on shoreline village sites is adding to what we know about early cultures here. This work must be done before wave action erodes the beaches and disturbs artifact deposits. The first peoples on these islands, 1665 Danish attempt at settling St. Thomas fails. 1671 Danes resettle St. Thomas, sponsored by Glueckstadt Co. (later Danish West India Co.). 1673 First slave vessel's arrival with 103 Africans launches St. Thomas as a slave market. 1754 Danish crown buys Danish West India & Guinea Co. stock and terminates charter. The islands are a crown colony. Y16A Frederick V grants free-port status to St. Thomas, St. John. 1792 March 16 edict of King Christian VII of Denmark- Norway specifies an end to African slave trade. 1801 E First British occupation dur- ing Napoleonic Wars. 1802 Peace ofAmiens returns the islands to Denmark. 1803 Denmark is first Euro- pean nation to end its African slave trade. 1804 Charlotte Amalie fire destroys hundreds of homes; A.D. 1 Archeological evi- dence shows beginnings of Igneri (pre-Taino) culture here. 700 Archeological evidence of Taino (so-called Arawak) culture on coastal areas — Trunk, Cinnamon, and Lameshur. 1493 1M I Columbus passes St. John on second voyage but doesn't put ashore. He names the northern Virgin Islands col- lectively "Las Once Mil Virgenes." 1520 Caribs stage raids against Puerto Rico from northern Virgin Islands. 1717 Denmark claims uninhabited St. John; 20 planters settle on St. John to grow sugar, cot- ton, and other crops. 1731 Annaberg under culti- vation; by the 1800s one of St. John's largest sugar pro- ducers. Windmill added in the 1820s or 1830s. 1733 Plantations total 109 (21 sugar). Slaves mount November 23 pre-dawn attack on Fort Frederik- svaern in Coral Bay, kill the soldiers, and launch a care- fully orchestrated slave rebellion. (See page 68.) 2500 B.C. Archeological evi- dence shows migratory South American hunter-gatherers in the Virgin Islands. 1425 Caribs reach here in their westernmost territorial expansion. 1493K Columbus, on second voyage, names the island Santa Cruz ("Holy Cross"). Crew mem- bers skirmish with Caribs at Salt River Bay. 1509 Ponce de Leon, first governor of Puerto Rico, extends administrative influ- ence to St. Croix through agreement with its Carib chiefs. Slave raid on St. Croix by Diego de Nicuesa breaks the truce. 1511 Carib warriors from St. Croix support Tainos in gen- eral uprising in Puerto Rico. 1512 King Ferdinand I of Spain issues Cedula ordering extermination of all Caribs on St. Croix. 1587 John White and Eng- lish colonists bound for Virginia stop at St. Croix; one nearly dies from tasting poisonous manchineel fruit. From a distance they see very few "savages and divers[e] houses." 1590 A French explorer notes that the island is com- pletely depopulated. 24 as in most of the Caribbean, disappeared and left no written traditions and few physi- cal traces. Today's populace reflects more than 500 years of migrations. Many of the people who came to these islands from around the world were forced, indentured, or bonded. Note: Entries in italics below refer to all three islands. m Denmark Spain England Knights of Malta Netherlands France losses total 11 million rigs- daler. 1807-1815 E Second British occupation during Napoleonic Wars. 1808 British abolish slave trade; build Ft. Cowell on Hassel Island to protect Charlotte Amalie harbor. 1810 Beet-sugar process developed in Germany por- tends future competition for cane sugar. 18151 Islands returned to Danish sovereignty. 1820 Decade-long, region- wide economic depression. 1825 Last pirate ship in West Indian waters captured. 1830 Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) born in Charlotte Amalie July 10. His career in art began here, not in France. 1834 Social equality between Free Blacks and Whites decreed. 1838 Ordinance in Danish Virgin Islands prohibits sell- ing slaves in public market places. Revolt quelled six months later with French aid from Martinique. 1749 Moravian Brethren begin missionary work on St. John. Build first church at Emmaus in Coral Bay. 1754 Bethany Mission founded. 1766 Cruz Bay established. The Battery is built and armed to protect the growing village. 1780-1800 Plantations make major shift from cotton to sugar; trade moves from Coral Bay to Cruz Bay. 1804 Slave population peaks at 2,604. 1820-1826 Sugar production peaks at 1.1 million pounds per year. 1844 Annaberg School, for slave children, opens on St. John. Moravian brethren teach classes in English. 1847 King Christian VIII decrees a 12-year plan for "graduated emancipation. " 1848 Emancipation of slaves in Danish West Indies, July 3. 16421 English and Dutch each attempt settlements, fight; Dutch end up in control of the island. 1643 First record of African slave presence. 1645 English subjugate and expel the Dutch and their French Huguenot allies. 1650 Spanish attack and expel the English. A Dutch incursion is repulsed, but the French expel the Spanish and start a colony. 16551 St. Croix governed by French chapter of Knights of Malta. 16651 French crown takes back island. Main settlement moves from Salt River Bay to Bassin, future site of Christiansted. Eighty planta- tions grow tobacco, indigo, cotton, sugar, and food crops. 1696 French colonists and slaves removed to Sainte Domingue (now Haiti) because of disease. 17331 Denmark buys St. Croix from France—the first peaceful transfer of owner- ship of a West Indian island. 25 Timeline: U.S. Virgin Islands 1839 Compulsory education decreed for slave and Free Black children. 1844 Danish statute abol- ishes poll tax, gives slaves Saturdays off, and requires observance of Sundays. 1867 First U.S. attempt to purchase St. Thomas and St. John; major earthquake and tsunami affect all the islands. 1871 Seat of government in islands moved to St. Thomas. 1872 Telegraph links St. Thomas and Europe. 1879 Bay rum manufactur- ing begins in St. Thomas. 1902 Second U.S. attempt to buy Danish West Indies fails. 1916 $25 million U.S. offer for Virgin Islands accepted. 1917 1 1 On Transfer Day, March 31, U.S. flag replaces Danish flag. U.S. Navy administers the islands. 1922 Nine passenger ships call at Charlotte Amalie. 1924 Rothschild Francis pro- motes Organic Act to create a single legislature for the islands. Such a bill is intro- duced in the U.S. Congress. 1930 Pan American Airlines serves St. Thomas from New York City. 1931 Civilian government established under the US. Department of the Interior. Mid-1800s Sugar production and population start to decline. 1852 St. John, St. Thomas one voting district in new assemblies. 1890-1940 Producing Bay Rum oil assumes major eco- nomic importance, chiefly at Cinnamon Bay and Coral Bay distilleries. 1901 St. John population is 925. 1908 Last operating sugar factory ceases production at Reef Bay. On Transfer Day, March 31, US. flag replaces Danish flag. U.S. Navy administers the islands. 1953 Total of 14 jeeps regis- tered on St. John. To save its peaceful lifestyle the admin- istrator proposes "limiting the number and size of motor vehicles on the island." 1956 Virgin Islands National Park dedicated December 1. Laurance S. Rockefeller bought the land and donated it to establish the park. 1962 5,650 acres of sub- merged lands added to Virgin Islands National Park to protect marine features like coral reefs and seagrass beds. 1976 Virgin Islands National Park designated a Biosphere Reserve, as a Caribbean eco- system worthy of preserva- 1734 St. Croix settled by Danish colonists from St. Thomas. 1755 Christiansted designat- ed as capital of Danish Islands in America. 1776 First foreign salute to the American flag fired from Fort Frederik, Frederiksted. 1735 Christiansted estab- lished and named for King Christian VI of Denmark- Norway. 1746 Slave revolt fails. 1747 Building code adopted for Christiansted is the first in the West Indies. 1752 Frederiksted estab- lished, named for King Fred- erick V 1759 Abortive slave revolt ends in brutal public execu- tions. 1764 The golden age of sugar agriculture on St. Croix begins. 1771 Royal Danish Amer- ican Gazette, first newspaper in the Virgin Islands, is pub- lished. 1848 Slave revolt in Fred- eriksted culminates in eman- cipation. 1849 Provisional Labor Act adopted to ensure continua- tion ofplantation system. 1852 Colonial Law establish- es first legislative assemblies. 1877 First central sugar fac- tory set up by colonial gov- ernment. 26 1936 Organic Act defines federal-territorial relation- ship. 1950 Morris F. deCastro ap- pointed first native Virgin Islands governor in modern times. 1952 U.S. Congress adopts Revised Organic Act; territor- ial government replaces municipal government. 1963 College of the Virgin Islands, first school of higher learning in these islands, opens St. Thomas campus. (Today it is the University of the Virgin Islands, with cam- puses on St. Thomas and St. Croix.) 1970 First election of gover- nor and lieutenant governor held. Dr. Melvin H. Evans is first black elected as a gov- ernor in the Virgin Islands and in the United States. 1972 The islands' first Con- gressional delegate Ron de Lugo elected. 1978 Congress authorizes adding Hassel Island to Virgin Islands National Park. 1999 Nearly 900 cruise ships call at Charlotte Amalie. tion. The status recognizes the park's role as a preserva- tion and research model for other protected island areas. 1988 Friends of Virgin Islands National Park found- ed as a nonprofit partner in the park's mission. 2001 President Bill Clinton proclaims Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monu- ment of 12,708 acres of fed- erally owned submerged lands off St. John. 1878 Major labor uprising, the "Fireburn," damages or destroys two-thirds of sugar plantations. 1915 First labor union in the Virgin Islands established; calls general strike in 1916. The Herald, first local news- paper free of government subsidies or censorship, is published. On Transfer Day, March 31, U.S. flag replaces Danish flag. U.S. Navy administers the islands. 1934 Homesteading pro- gram to help establish inde- pendent small Black and Hispanic farms begins. "New Deal" Virgin Islands Com- pany (VICO) set up to revi- talize St. Croix sugar and rum industry. 1952 Virgin Islands National Historic Site, later Chris- tiansted National Historic Site, established. 1961 President John F. Kennedy proclaims Buck Island Reef National Monument. 1963-1965 Sugar agriculture ceases. Economy diversified by tourism and heavy and light industries. 1992 Salt River Bay Na- tional Historical Park and Ecological Preserve estab- lished. 2001 Buck Island Reef Na- tional Monument expanded by more than 18,000 acres of surrounding federally owned submerged lands. 27 ' i J5p tss •ft" Part 2 T LANT I C OCEAN Cricket Rock West Botany Cay p int Rough Point Montalvan Point Saba island Flamingo Point National Park System lands St. Thomas: Getting Your Island Bearings Pelican Cay Little Hans Lollik Island Hans Lollik Island Buck Island National Wildlife Refu ipella Islands Mingo Cay Congo Cay ao9° CaN Henley Cay jbst OB Steven Cay Cruz Bay ST JOHN fW v .• *a »» I St. Thomas: Quick Facts Emergency Call 911. For hospital emergencies call 776-8311. Information Virgin Islands National Park, RO Box 710, St. John, VI 00831-0710; 340-776-6201; or www.nps.gov/viis Virgin Islands Department of Tourism; 340-774-8784; www. usvi .org/tourism St. Thomas/St. John Chamber of Commerce 340-776-0100; www.chamber.vi Most of Hassel Island, in St. Thomas Harbor, is part of Virgin Islands National Park. Reach it by rental boats, charters, or personal watercraft. No scheduled services are available. Transportation Scheduled airlines serve Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. Inter-island planes serve airports on St. Frangipani caterpillars become toxic from the sap of frangipani leaves they eat before they pupate as hawk moths. Their bold caterpillar colors tell birds "eat else- f where!" Opposite: From suffi- cient altitude the bold colors of a sinuous carnival parade might seem to emulate an undulating caterpillar. Thomas, St. Croix, and Puerto Rico; seaplanes go from Charlotte Amalie to Christiansted on St. Croix. Ferries at Red Hook and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, serve Cruz Bay, St. John. Other ferries serve the British Virgin Islands. Check phone book and rack cards in airports. Character St. Thomas is volcanic in origin and therefore hilly. Part of it retains a French influence. St. Thomas is a premier Caribbean port of call for cruise ships. Popular Beaches and Reefs Hull Bay, Magens Bay, Coki Beach, and many oth- ers. Size and Highest Point St. Thomas covers 32 square miles. Crown Mountain's elevation is 1,556 feet. Of Hassel Island's 135 acres, 122.4 are part of Virgin Islands National Park. Tours and Hikes Tour St. Thomas by taxi, rental car or boat, charter boat, or helicopter ride. Recreation Snorkeling, hiking, scuba diving, kayaking, windsurf- ing, parasailing, sailing, trailrides. Check at your lodgings for watersports equipment rentals and for commercial services. Lodging Hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfasts, and resorts. Ask a travel agent, Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, or chamber of commerce. Safety Tips Whether you walk or drive on St. Thomas, be alert to traffic, and especially in Charlotte Amalie. Remem- ber, you need not be on beaches or boats to get a sunburn! 33 IMtlMf. ^^ 4f^a^ e&kili .* * I >* / -».;- hko ? --^':\^ ^4^m^^^i& ... ** *> • ^ f I4H i A Mercantile Mystique Caribbean children make the most of a window on their world. Its deep water port gave St. Thomas an early window on a wide world of international commerce. Preceding pages: As a free port and popular shore call for international cruise-ship passengers today, St. Thomas still retains its historically cosmopolitan flavor. Its centuries-old role as an international maritime trade center still strongly flavors the character of the Island of St. Thomas. Its roles today as cruise- ship destination and transfer point for trips to St. John, the British Virgin Islands, and St. Croix keep this character vivid still. With tourism and the cruise-ship trade as major drivers of the island's economy, the mercantile mystique continues to hold sway. St. Thomas served as the capital of the Danish West Indies from 1871 into modern times. Today it is the political seat of territorial government for all the U.S. Virgin Islands. That all this and much more focuses on the deep- water harbor and port city of Charlotte Amalie only underscores the island's enduring aura of interna- tional commerce. Free-port status was first granted to St. Thomas in 1764 by the Danish crown. It was retained when the United States bought the islands in 1917. Thanks to this duty-free advantage and its superb harbor, St. Thomas ranks as a world-class shopping paradise. All this is old hat to St. Thomas, which served as a major station of the English Royal Mail Steamship Company from the 1830s to 1880s and then served as a major headquarters as well for the German Hamburg-Amerika Line and its shipping network up until World War I. In the 1700s a large part of St. Thomas was put to agricultural uses, but the island's steep, volcanic terrain quickly made sugar culture too labor intensive to be economically profitable. Sugar agriculture on St. Thomas became compara- tively even less profitable for Denmark when that nation acquired far more cultivatable, non-volcanic St. Croix in 1733. It then made far more sense for St. Thomas to cash in on its deepwater harbor. His- torically, a merchant class dominated St. Thomas social life, whereas a planter class played that role on St. Croix. For the past 50 years St. Thomas has increasingly developed large resort hotels. Today 37 Hassel Island is a rocky, cac- tus scrub-covered island in St. Thomas Harbor off Charlotte Amalie. This detail of a 1717 nautical chart shows todays island as the peninsula it was before the narrow neck of land was excavated in 1865 to create a boat channel—and the island. Much of Hassel Island is part of Virgin Islands National Park now. The entire island is on the National Register of Historic Places because of its archeological value and its role in architecture, com- merce, engineering, industry, the military, and transporta- tion in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Cowell Bat- tery, on the island's highest point 267 feet above the har- bor, saw duty as a signal sta- tion into the 1960s. the island particularly attracts tourists who are attuned to duty-free shopping and a nightlife cen- tered on resort hotel complexes. Piracy pre-dated free-port status by nearly 100 years, and thrived from 1672 to 1700. During that time some colonial governors openly associated with pirates or privateers. But piracy's role in the life of St. Thomas as a Danish colony came to an end in the early 18th century. Denmark's home gov- ernment began to regulate the colonial governors more closely, but only open-market piracy ended then. Piracy went on for another 125 years in the Caribbean. The last pirate ship to be captured hailing from Columbia, South America—fell to a Danish vessel in 1825. Today you will have to imag- ine the pirates' era by seeing Bluebeard Castle or by reading about Blackbeard's colorful exploits. He was, after all, a denizen of these Virgin Islands when he was in his prime. Denmark not only clamped down on colonial gov- ernors but influenced predominant historical archi- tectural styles of St. Thomas. Many buildings date from 1840 on, after the last of several fires ravaged the port city of Charlotte Amalie throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. Up to that time most construction had been of wood. The building styles were imports, as were most building materials. How- ever, the nature of islands requires making do with what's at hand, especially when the imports are bulky, heavy materials from distant ports. Historical local fire-resistant building materials are coral and a blue-gray stone so hard and so difficult to work that the early masons inelegantly named it "blue bitch." Not all is Danish style nor mercantile. One of the more distinctive ethnic groups on St. Thomas are people of French descent who migrated from the island of St. Barts, officially Saint-Barthelemy. Their Frenchtown settlement can be seen from the bal- conies of cruise ships pulling into St. Thomas's deepwater harbor. They have made their distinctive mark on the St. Thomas landscape and life mostly as small-scale farmers and fishermen. Remarkably, they have quite successfully retained their French identity, heritage, and community to this day and still farm St. Thomas's more arable north shore lands. They were once noted for the weaving of bas- kets, straw hats, and fish nets. Frenchtown folk still 38 fish using fish pots, nets, and traps. They still make the traps, but of wire now, not of local materials as in bygone days. Human cultures are rarely static, as indeed these islands' many thousands of years of human habitation everywhere reveal. It is not our specie's nature to stand still amidst a world of con- stant—some would say relentless—change. Updating the ancient urge to take to the open waters are the many yachts and charter boats so characteristic of St. Thomas's east end. This island still retains its renown as a charter hub for the Virgin Islands, both U.S. and British, despite grow- ing competition from the island of Tortola. But the deepwater harbor still reigns as the locus of marine travel here. The sub base in Charlotte Amalie's harbor hosted submarines during World War II. For 400 years European powers jockeyed for control of various West Indian islands. A glance back at the map of the Caribbean basin on pages 8 and 9 shows why. The goal ever and always was to protect and/or control the shipping lanes into and out of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Beginning in 1867 the United States joined in this jockeying for favorable naval bases in the region. Rumors during World War I that Germany was interested in the Danish islands inspired the United States to purchase the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million in 1917. The recently completed Panama Canal could not afford to be threatened. Today, for the most part, St. Thomas's deepwater harbor hosts not sailing ships, submarines, or even today's containerized-cargo behemoths but cruise^ ships. Sea-borne vacationing goes on year-round now but peaks from November to April. The St. Thomas harbor and ship docks can accommodate up to a dozen cruise ships. At any one time this might include four large ships of 2,500 passengers each and six or seven smaller vessels—for a com- bined cruising population of 18,000 or more people on a big mid-winter Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thurs- day. That figure does not include the cruise-ship crew members who were also "born-to-shop" in the free port of St. Thomas in their hours off. With its busy international airport, St. Thomas is also a logistical hub for comings and goings whose ultimate destination may be St. John, mostly via public ferries, or St. Croix by commuter flights. So, Also known as Blackbeard, Captain Edward Teach was one of many pirates and pri- vateers who frequented St. Thomas between their forays. Piracy s heyday was late in the 1 7th century, when some colonial governors conspired openly with the pirates. Euro- pean monarchs reined in their governors about 1700, but piracy persisted in the Caribbean until 1825. Black- beard's Tower on St. Thomas, built in 1678, probably never played host to Blackbeard. Certainly Bluebeard Castle did not harbor Bluebeard, who was only a character in fiction. 39 Documenting Magens Bay Fishermen, St. Thomas, 1948 Fritz Henle was a onotosrapner or inter- national repute. His work helped secure the national park on St. John. Traditions St. John Ferry, 1949 Henle also documented traditional ways of life, including those of the fishing folk of French descent on St. Thomas. A legend gave its name to Bluebeard Castle (both pages), built on St. Thomas beginning in 1666. Danish troops used its tower for a lookout. The old graves on the terrace hold former citi- zens, not Bluebeard's mur- dered wives. St. Thomas is a port of call for many splendid things in addition to its own scenery. Among these are the animated faces of school children with whom you may find yourself traveling on a public ferry as they commute between their homes on St. John and their schools on St. Thomas. That school uniforms cannot mask the rich diversity of their multiple cultural heritages is yet another vivid reminder of the real people, real places, and real stories that these jewel- like tropical islands embody. ". * ' *'<**#- « < "Vv *** .#& 42 m:< Recreation and Cultural Activities on the Islands Beaches, weather, and warm water draw people to the Caribbean. Once you are here the evidence of cultures, past and present, surrounds you. To kick off your time at Virgin Islands National Park, take a taxi tour of St. John. Catch a safari bus at Cruz Bay to the top of Coral Bay Overlook, 1,080 feet above the sea. You'll find panoramic views of the islands, waters, and offshore cays and see the British Virgin Islands. You'll stop at beaches, pass the crumbling walls built of rock, brick, and coral that recall the changes these islands have witnessed. Visit Anna- berg sugar plantation to learn about the work of planters and slaves and, later, sub- sistence farmers and fishermen on these isolated islands. Check each park's sched- uled activities for special cultural events like craft demonstrations, drumming, and plays and storytelling. Island Cultures Discover these islands' rich mix of cultures. Music is important, ranging from quelbe, steel pan, reggae, calypso, and rock-and- roll to classical music. Carnival time corre- sponds with the Fourth of July on St. John and Christmas time on St. Croix and is in late April on St. Thomas. Try some conch pate, coconut tart, fungi (a boiled mixture of corn meal and okra), or salt fish. Talk with taxi drivers and shopkeepers, remem- bering to wish them the time of day. Schoolgirl in uniforTO fos% * \ K\ )cession, Christiansted, St. Croix In Christiansted, St. Croix, visit Fort Chris- tiansvaern, the Steeple Building museum, Scale House, and other reminders of the daily lives of the whites who ruled these islands in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ask about commercial tours of St. Croix, visit- ing St. George Village Botanical Gardens, Whim Great House, Fort Frederik, and the scenic drive. Relative Danish religious tol- erance that began in the 1750s accounts for the Reformed Dutch, Moravian, Angli- can, and Roman Catholic churches in addi- tion to the Danish State (Lutheran) church. At Salt River Bay you can stand in the first place under the U.S. flag where crew from Christopher Columbus's fleet put ashore, in 1493. Concessioners offer day trips from Christiansted to Buck Island Reef National Monument for snorkeling or scuba diving in the marine world of the colorful coral reef. t^v*t/« Mm w$*t N 3 ;,*£:** Sailboarding is a recent favori ;^v Hiking trails in the mountains, St. John ! \ ] Riding through the past, Frederiksted, St. Croix Exploring the bays and shorelines, St. John Private property exists with- Virgin Islands Coral Reef ational Park System lands in the boundary of the park. Respect property owners' rights; do not trespass. National Monument was created in 2001 by presi- dential proclamation from 12,708 acres of federal submerged lands. TORTOLA St. John: Virgin Islands National Park and Coral Reef \A,~>^~ r „ Leinster Watertemort Po!nt Threadneedle Cay Point X laberg 9V Trail * iar Mill x ^ firown Bay Tra« BAY * Hermitage , (To) pORAL MnSSian// Wardens fSSSf !i .Palestina Fortsberg 426ft 130m \ © Blackrock Hill 499ft 152m Long Point 4 • Calabash Boom 5 Virgin Islands $ Environmental ? Resource Station *° a (VIERS) Lameshur < Yawzi Point Trail s Minna Hill 989ft 301m B \ Sabbat \ Point Johns Folly Itpond Po/nf ay Trail Ctpritte Horn Point Saltpond Bay Drunk Ba /Trail Kiddel I Point Booby Rock 0) | 200ft . 61m ffam Heac1 • CARIBBEAN SEA mm - St. John: Quick Facts Emergency Dial 911. A health clinic is at the intersection of Routes 104 and 10, five minutes from Cruz Bay. Information Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, P.O. Box 710, St. John, VI 00831-0710; 340-776-6201; or www.nps.gov/viis Friends of Virgin Islands National Park 340-779-4940 www.friendsvinp.org Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, 340-776-6450 www.usvi.org/tourism St. John/St. Thomas Chamber of Commerce 340-776-0100 www.chamber.vi Cinnamon Bay Camp- ground 800-223-7637 or 340-776-6330 To go to the National Park Service Cruz Bay Visitor Center, bear left at the end of the public dock and fol- low the waterfront, a five- minute walk. No general park entrance fee, but fees are charged at Trunk Bay and Annaberg Plantation. Transportation Tour the park and St. John by taxi and safari tours, rental vehicles, guided ranger hikes, or hiking trails. Taxis from Cruz Bay serve lodging areas and beaches. Buses run be- tween Cruz Bay's ferry dock and Saltpond Bay via Coral Bay. Ferries from Cruz Bay serve Red Hook (20 minutes) and Charlotte Amalie (45 minutes) on St. Thomas, 340-776-6282. Driving time (in minutes) from Cruz Bay to: Hawks- nest Bay, 10; Trunk Bay, 15; Cinnamon Bay, 20; Anna- berg, 25; Coral Bay, 30; Saltpond Bay, 40; and East End of island, 50. Character Greet strangers with the time of day. Local custom and ordinances require wearing a shirt or cover-up in town. Bathing suits alone are not acceptable. Virgin Islands law prohibits public nudity. The island is a mix of national park land and private land. Respect own- ers' privacy. Popular Beaches Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinna- mon, Maho, and Francis bays. (Watch valuables on beaches while swimming.) Size and Highest Point St. John covers 20 square miles. The national park is 9,485 acres terrestrial (authorized) and 5,650 acres marine. Bordeaux Mountain's elevation is 1,277 feet. The national monument is 12,708 acres of submerged lands. Tours and Hikes Taxi-tour times, round trip from Cruz Bay (in hours): Trunk Bay with snorkeling, 3; Annaberg Sugar Mill with sightseeing, 3; and Reef Bay Trailhead with round-trip hike (hail a taxi on Centerline Road for return to Cruz Bay), 6. Hiking time, round trip: to closest beach (Salomon or Honeymoon) with swim, 3. Recreation Snorkeling, hiking, scuba diving, kayaking, windsurf- ing, sailing, and boating. Rent watersports gear at Trunk and Cinnamon bays. W Part of a pottery vessel's han- dle, this adorno is from the Taino culture. Ram Head (opposite), at St. John 's dry southeast side, is cooled by the trade winds. 49 Contemporary Square Away Shari Erickson ny contemporary Artists Tardy Erickson celebrates saturated, primary colors and the islands' intense, tropical sunlight. CT The One Biosphere Reserve In the Lesser Antilles Star coral is the most com- mon reef coral in the Carib- bean at depths of less than 60 feet. In deeper water it flat- tens out more—to maximize its ability to capture light. Light feeds the algae that grow inside the coral in a symbiotic relationship with it. Algae produce the oxygen a coral requires to live. They also enhance the ability of the coral to produce its skeleton. Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument was pro- claimed in 2001 from 12,708 acres offederally owned sub- merged lands off the island of St. John. This new area, ad- ministered by the National Park Service, protects coral reef and mangrove habitat crucial for the biological diversity of the entire Caribbean. Its steep volcanic terrain made St. John one of the last West Indian islands to be cultivated by Euro- peans. When the Danes came over from St. Thomas in 1717, St. John was not inhabited. The Tainos for- merly living here had disappeared. Archeologists have been trying to pinpoint when they left. Why they left remains even more of a mystery. Perhaps Caribs drove them off and then did not stay them- selves. Archeologists have been working Cinnamon Bay beach to document both pre-1493 Taino and colonial-era village sites before beach erosion and rising sea level destroy their artifacts. A 200-year gap in habitation no doubt all but erased the impacts of Tainos on the larger island environment. Some changes that the Tainos wrought remain. Although they gathered much marine life for food, they did introduce two mammals to St. John as food animals: the hutia (originally a Bahamian relative of the South American nutria), and the agouti, a mem- ber of the rat family. These animals may have had impacts on the island's ecological dynamics. Mostly plant-eating, the hutia also ate some small inverte- brates and reptiles, which may not have adapted to its predation. The Tainos also introduced their staple food plant manioc, which was processed as cassava by leaching out its poison. Manioc does not natural- ize but dies out if human cultivation ceases. Because it was small, isolated, and undeveloped, St. John was where the newer and more rebellious slaves from Africa would be taken to be broken in. Some St. John planters were absentee landlords liv- ing on St. Thomas, and their St. John holdings were run by overseers. Working conditions were more brutal and difficult for slaves here. Despite the plentiful, haunting evidence of the Danish sugar plantations still to be seen on St. John, terrain has ultimately defined how humans interact with this island. The evidence of prehistoric human settlement here means that the island once had 53 As you travel from Cruz Bay on St. John's west end to Ram Head, its southeastern penin- sula, the vegetation changes dramatically. Interior moun- tains are characterized by moist, subtropical forest (above). Island forests now contain over 800 plant species. These are a mix of native species and many exotic species— those that people have intro- duced from other islands, the mainland, and continents. We may never know what the native plant life was like on St. John. year-round sources of fresh water like dependable springs or streams. The Tainos evidently did not dig wells, desalt sea water, or collect rainfall in catch- ment basins—or archeologists would certainly know if they did. No doubt the lush tropical forests col- lected the rainfall then. The forests stored that water in the deep, root-held humus soil formed over centuries by the decay of the dense forest canopy's fallen leaves. The mountain forests released the stored moisture slowly throughout the year, thus keeping springs and streams vibrant year-round. As the soil becomes built up again, it becomes almost peat-like, spongy, and absorbent. Cutting down tropical forests turns out to be dou- ble trouble. It not only wipes out natural water stor- age but can actually decrease the rainfall. When the land dries out after the forest is removed it heats up and may cause decreased precipitation. Prevailing winds from the east-southeast flowing over St. John have their air cooled enough to precipitate some of its cargo of moisture as rainfall on the island's lee side and its interior. Bordeaux Mountain is part of this pattern, which explains why St. John's west end is so moist, while its east end is semi-arid. On such a small island this dramatic ecological variation is remarkably noticeable. The moist forests of St. John grow the West Indian locust, hogplum, and yellow prickle trees. Trees of the island's dry-forest include lignum vitae and black torch. The southeast corner of the national park at Ram Head is anything but moist tropical forest. Its low, scrubby vegetation is dwarfed by aridity aggravated by its open headland exposure to drying winds. St. John has some of the best examples of dry tropical forest remaining in the Lesser Antilles. Rising rapidly and steeply from sea level, St. John's terrain offers many microclimates and dis- tinct ecological niches. This favors the biological diversity of an abundance of plant species. National Park Service specialists in natural resources man- agement watch closely how the now-protected nat- ural systems recover after centuries of having their internal dynamics disturbed by agriculture, intro- duction of exotic species, former farm animals gone feral . . . the list is a litany. Indeed, much that is eco- logically amiss in today's Caribbean could be said to have begun with the Spanish explorers' assumption 54 that nature existed to be exploited. We still seem to daydream about nature as something that is espe- cially adapted to human needs and wants. Our urge, if unrestrained, would make all landscapes artifacts of human desire. However, the biological diversity of the tropics proves this unimaginative by compari- son. Our 500-year-long encounter with Caribbean natural history turns out to be not so much a dis- covery as a slow awakening. The first European naturalists to study the terres- trial Caribbean region encountered its western pe- rimeter, the Central American land bridge, in the first half of the 1500s. They were overwhelmed by the forest's leafy unfathomability. Now, St. John's protected park area struggles to reclothe itself with its former forests through what a modern naturalist calls "the roller coaster of diversity." Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdez and his philosophical rival Bartolome de Las Casas were contemporaries in the first half of the 1500s. Neither could know that rain forests resulted from 500 mil- lion years of life diversifying and adapting to its environment—the qualities national parks are now meant to protect. Oviedo and Las Casas held very different views of the worth of American Indians. Las Casas became an outspoken opponent of the enslavement of Indians, but such opposition unwit- tingly led to the introduction of enslaved Africans to the New World in large numbers. Baffled by the "great numbers" of trees, Oviedo called the dense forests "a vast and hidden ocean, for though it can be seen, most of it is unknown." Overwhelmed by their seemingly endless variety, he dismissed tropical lizards as an almost infinite sub- ject. Neither Oviedo nor Las Casas possessed the framework for a sense of time deep enough to ap- preciate the vast differences between the natural history of Europe and that of the Caribbean. Writing in 1722 the Dominican friar Francisco Jimenez strongly sensed the differences. He also praised the Indians as "scientific about the animals of the forest." Who knows what great and intimate knowledge of St. John's natural history disappeared with the Taino's abandonment of the island? In the 1930s a zoologist working among Central American village farmers found that their descriptive knowl- edge of even rats and spiders routinely surpassed On windswept peninsulas like Ram Head, cacti and other arid-lands plants replace the forests of the island's interior. The constant winds would dry out plants that are not adapted to these desert-like conditions. Escaped slaves reportedly got their drinking water from cactus plants while living in hiding after the 1733 slave revolt. 55 Plant Life: Greatly Changed, but Traditional Uses Remain The plant life of the Virgin Islands has been greatly altered in the past 500 years. Island residents who were here before Columbus (but had disappeared from St. John before 1500) had some impacts on some parts of the landscape. They cleared moister valleys for farming and may have introduced some plants, such as the genip and the kapok tree, whose buttressed trunk is shown below. Yet these people's small populations and low-technology ways of life did not intrude on steep interior forests or the arid coastal scrublands. European development of the islands— beginning in the mid-1600s on St. Croix, the late 1600s on St. Thomas, and the early 1700s on St. John— rapidly destroyed all the ancient forests. Planters cut trees to make way for cotton and sugar. Traditional Uses of Plants Many wild plants of the Virgin Islands are sources of widely-accepted traditional bush medicines and food. Plants provide reme- dies that strengthen the immune system, cure sickness, remove internal parasites, or cast off evil spirits. Active agents in many such plants are now identified and are sources of today's medicines. The oral tra- ditions of bush medicine have been docu- mented recently to preserve them. Tama- rind trees (far left) came from India. Pulp from the seed and preserve nectar for h$> purgative,;«fc-n treat dia f>' lis flavors a drink, curries, labash trees (left) provide ees and herbals for a t skin poisons, and to ^'s. and colds. e&S&St Hundreds of non-native plants were intro- duced. In many locations large quantities of topsoil and humus disappeared once the forests had been cut down. The topsoil was parched by the hot tropical sun and then washed away by heavy rains. Today exten- sive development continues in much of the Virgin Islands, and many ornamental plants have been introduced to the islands in modern times. However, in Virgin Islands National Park, early successional phases of forest regrowth are apparent. Taller trees that form the canopy layer of the evergreen forests on St. John include hogplum, West Indian locust, yellow prickle, monkey pistol, mango, and genip. Guavaberry, false cof- fee, hoop vine, and anthuriums grow in the forest understory. \*J 'i '/, i Flamboyant Flo Century Plant Eyelash Orchid Beaches and Cays The good news for plants on beaches is that there's plenty of light and very little compe- tition, as this photo of Trunk Bay and Trunk Cay shows. The bad news includes salt spray and relentless drying sun and wind that would kill most plants, not to mention that sand is poor in nutrients and doesn't stay put for very long. Seagrape trees help stabilize beaches. On windy beaches they may be stunted, lopsided, or growing horizon- tally. Wave action forms many beaches, bringing sand from reefs and submerged beach terraces. Storm waves can erode both coral reefs and shore rocks to make sand, coral rubble, and rounded cobbles (inset) that make up most island beaches. Several parrotfish species also make great quantities of coral sand. Their fused teeth look like parrot beaks, and they use them to scrape algae from coral that is usually already dead. In the back of their throats the coral gets ground to powder so the par- rotfish can digest the edible plant material. The fish then excrete the indigestible skele- tons as sand. Some trigger- fish do this, too. Cays (pronounced keys) are small, low islands that are made up of rock, coral, or sand. The word may have come from the Lucayan (Bahamian) language. ^-•i#f^£sftj" Evidence of missionary work performed among the slaves persists in the masonry struc- ture of Emmaus Moravian Church now inside the town of Coral Bay. Mission work began on St. John in 1 749. Congregations were estab- lished at Bethany (1754) and at Emmaus in 1783. A slave preacher, mason, and Morav- ian helper named Cornelius laid its cornerstone. The date of its completion is not cer- tain. The church is used as a shelter by the community when hurricanes threaten. Opposite: Miss Felicia Caines demonstrates the craft of weaving hoop vine into a traditional St. John market basket at Annaberg Sugar Mill. The hoop vine is gath- ered in St. John forests. the skills of all but highly trained European special- ists—who developed no such skills until the end of the 19th century. "These people must have perfect- ed their opinions on the subject before Columbus discovered America," the zoologist wrote. Fixated on finding gold, you may miss the myriad richness staring you in the face. Clearing tropical forests for agriculture, as Danish sugar planters began to do on St. John in 1717, is deceptive. For a short while the soil is very produc- tive, but nutrients are quickly depleted. It begins to dry and to erode. Volcanic mountain terrain com- pounds erosion problems. Terracing was used to cre- ate level terrain for growing crops. These old terrac- ings are mostly on St. John. Their crumbled dry-wall masonry style is best seen along the Reef Bay Trail and the Cinnamon Bay Loop Trail. Old masonry animal pens or slave-hut foundations are other types of walls seen along trails. Picturesque masonry and mechanical evidence of the Danish sugar era are rarely far from view on St. John. Indeed, they provide the thematic thrust for the Caneel Bay development of Rockefeller family interests, for example. As such they may be said to have contributed to the Rockefellers' inspiration to acquire the land they donated to the people of the United States for the creation of Virgin Islands Na- tional Park. Subsequent private development on St. John's non-park lands—greatly speeded up since the 1960s—has had the effect of making the park a biological island within the geographical island. Basic to the modern ecological view of life is that all things natural are linked or interconnected. If the influence of natural processes abruptly ends at the boundary of a protected natural area, the area ceases to be a living ecological organism. This poses serious long-term problems now even for protected natural areas as large as Yellowstone National Park with its two-million-plus acres. At Virgin Islands National Park some impacts of the development on non-park lands, while largely unseen to nonspecialists, can have much wider eco- logical consequences. Construction excavations and road building activities, for example, can create ero- sional sediments that wash downhill, eventually into the bays to smother the fragile coral reef ecosys- tems that require clean water to get solar energy. 60 Sanctuary for a Hemisphere's Birds Humans are not alone in flying round trip to the Virgin Islands. So do northern parula warblers and many other birds known as "neotropical migrants." They nest in Canada and the United States and winter in Mexico and points south. Moist wood- lands on St. Thomas, St. John, and northwestern St. Croix are wintering grounds for these songbirds. Undisturbed wood- lands, both moist forest and dry forest, are essential for migratory birds but are more and more rare in the Carib- bean. Without quality wintering grounds these birds can't nest successfully— or survive. As bird habitat shrinks elsewhere, the forests in these National Park System units and other protected natural areas Smooth-billed Arti become ever more important. Loss of mangrove forest to coastal development has destroyed nesting habitat of white-crowned pigeons, which are locally protected. Recently some have begun nesting in mangroves that are colonizing the shoreline of Ruth Cay. The cay was built off St. Croix with the spoils from dredging. Green-throated Carib Mangrove Cuckoo ^ Northern Parula 62 Even ocean-feeding birds like the brown booby (shown un- derwater from beneath in the photo at left) need habitat on land for nesting. Although they are small, these islands loom very large in importance to the long-term fates of many bird species. Because they are free of human disturbance and nat- ural predators, small offshore cays may be even more impor- tant for seabird species. American Oystercatcher Bahama White-cheeked Pintail Duck 63 For many years a mystery of St. John has been the petro- glyphs found just off the Reef Bay Trail. Who carved them? Archeologists today think they were carved by the Taino peoples who lived on St. John from about 700 to the late 1400s. In the 1970s a scholar posited that ancient Africans carved them before Columbus encountered the Americas, but their symbols match designs on Taino artifacts excavated at Cinnamon Bay recently. No reliable way to date the petro- glyphs is presently known. A great contemporary challenge for the National Park Service and other federal and territorial con- servation agencies is to work in partnership with private landowners and municipalities to mitigate and avoid the problems that might otherwise com- promise the preservation mission in the national park itself. Much is at stake because the intent of the national park's creation and indeed of the gen- erous donation of Rockefeller lands was to assure protection—forever—of the natural and cultural attractions of a Caribbean-island setting. Much is at stake for residents of St. John, too, for tourism is the island's lifeblood. And unlike neigh- boring St. Croix, St. John has no substantial agricul- ture or industry to supplement its economy. Too much loss of its natural attractions could dramati- cally alter the economics of tourism. Marine ecosystems around much of St. John were given additional valuable protection with the proc- lamation of Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument in 2001. This new area, also adminis- tered by the National Park Service, includes 12,708 acres of federally owned submerged lands. It pro- tects coral reef, seagrass beds, and mangrove habi- tat. It will benefit not only the national park and other immediate areas but the tropical marine eco- system generally. These habitats, now protected, play essential roles in the developmental stages of many plants and animals associated with coral reefs, including fish and crustaceans. Over 25 species of sea birds also feed in the waters of the national monument. St. John's cultural history also shows that ways of life can and do end. Witness the disappearance of the early Indian cultures and economy and the end of slavery and sugar cultivation. Even the monolith- ic plantation system's day had come. By the 1850s, many estates had ceased production and had been abandoned. The large agricultural complexes de- volved into small freehold plots, scattered here and there about the island. In a century and a half, na- ture has largely smothered colonial structures in a dense green embrace. Root systems penetrate mas- sive walls and cause them to crumble, returning all to the earth. Slavery officially ended here with Emancipation, decreed by Denmark in 1848. Its end was hastened 64 by increasing economic competition from the sugar beet and growing opposition from humanitarian and religious groups. Slavery was also out of keep- ing with the burgeoning international movement toward expanded political rights. The seeds of St. John's traditional post-European but pre-tourism economy were planted after the 1733 slave revolt—see pages 68 and 69. Partly as a result of that revolt, slaves were increasingly given use of provision grounds. These were plots on which they had the opportunity to raise their own food. The slaves were given Sundays off to work their provision grounds, which were usually located near the slave villages of plantations here on St. John. However slowly at first, this movement eventually gave rise to a market economy among the slaves and later to those freeholders of African descent. This economy continued to develop as slavery and the plantation system slipped into history. The growing market economic system also fos- tered cultural identity. Because land ownership up to Emancipation changed so frequently on St. John, few Europeans stayed on the island long enough to develop a distinctive local culture. Nor was there any indigenous island culture—because the island had become uninhabited before 1717. Therefore, St. John's island culture developed from its African- descended people and not from Europeans. In fact, St. John's culture largely developed from within during the period from 1850 until the upsurge of tourism in the 1950s. Although it may be small compared to some other national parks, Virgin Islands National Park con- tains a significant part of all the lowland and coastal habitat that is protected throughout the West Indies, and it is the only Biosphere Reserve in the Lesser Antilles. The importance of Virgin Islands National Park regionally as a protected natural area must therefore not be underestimated. The cumulative land area of all the Caribbean islands is no larger than the State of Oregon. Yet no part of the West- ern Hemisphere contains as many vertebrate species per square mile as these islands do. Rockefeller family interests bought most of what would be Virgin Islands National Park and gave the land to the federal government in 1956 to be designated as a park. In 1962 the park was enlarged to include 5,650 acres of sub- merged lands. The park is now a Biosphere Reserve, recognizing its global signifi- cance in protecting biological diversity and representative terrestrial and marine Carib- bean environment. In 2001 the proclamation of Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument lent further signif- icance to St. John and envi- rons for the region's tropical marine ecosystem generally. Pages 72-73: The west end of Mary Point (left) on St. John and Great Thatch Island (in the middle distance), part of the British Virgin Islands, are separated by The Narrows, an Atlantic Ocean channel less than three-quarters of a mile wide. Leinster Bay lies in the foreground here. 65 ^•rvausvBssf Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring hose 'animal-plants' which are equipped with a stony, horny, or spongy exterior are generally called coral, and are divided into four kinds," Mor- avian missionary C.G.A. Old- endorp noted in the 1760s. His are among the earliest known records of nature in the Virgin Islands. The National Park Service and its partners and cooperators inventory and monitor natural resources e. Monitoring tells us how it is faring. Monitoring the natural resources at na- tional park units here has ' rapidly altered our image of these islands as pristine envi- ronments immune to outside -influences. Disturbing trends link the islands to regional and global changes beyond the control of a national park or monument/ Most changes are slow, small, and difficult to track: a qradual increase of algae on a reef, the decrease in plant diversity on a closely watched forest plot, a slow rise in the quarterly turbidity measurements of a formerly crystal-clear bay, a decline in long-term sea turtle nesting activity. These are only a few situa- tions that may warn of multi- ple changes taking place in water, on land, or both. First the scientist translates the , 4 - . • $? . «*- language that monitoring to the environment that is techniques speak. Then the natural and change that is park manager acts to restore human-caused. Nature's natural conditions. Census health in and around these data are essential; numbers islands is linked with this are telling. If reef fish keep labor-intensive monitoring of declining in diversity, size, plants and animals, especially fishing may need more strin- gent regulation. How marine and terrestrial systems re- coup after hurricanes is care- fully studied. This helps us distinguish between change f In the inset photo a scientist studies the impacts on coral reefs of sedimentation that is caused by road building. The large photo shows a trumpet fish and sea fan. ^w ft* - < Slave Revolt of 1733 In the pre-dawn darkness of November 23, 1733, a carefully planned slave revolt began as a small group of slaves carried bundles of wood into the Dan- ish fort, Frederiksvaern, atop Fortsberg hill, at Coral Bay, on St. John. Concealed inside the bundles were cane bills, a type of short machete. With the ele- ment of surprise they overpow- ered and killed the sentry and all but one of the six soldiers billeted in the fort. Taking the fort, the Africans fired its can- nons to signal that the revolt had begun. The shots signalled the general insurrection and the killing of whites. A contem- porary report by Pierre Joseph Pannet of St. Thomas— dated December 4, 1733— suggests that the Africans planned to take the Europeans by surprise and assert control over St. John. Pannet also wrote of the Africans' resolve to work with other slaves on St. Thomas to bring about "our complete ruin" as well as "that of Tor- tola." In one of the most suc- cessful slave revolts ever in the West Indies, the Africans kept control of St. John for six months and were finally sub- dued not by the Danes but by ^ French troops brought in from Martinique. As Arnold R. High- field and Aimery P. Caron have written, "Virgin Islanders are proudly aware that those dis- tant acts of resistance marked the beginning of their long struggle for freedom and self- determination." Immediate roots of the revolt were many. "The Caribbean was a tremen- dous devourer of human life," says historian Steven Mintz. "Mortality was very high." The work was heavy, and men and women worked side by side at it. Death from overwork, mal- nutrition, accidents involving machinery, cuts, and infections was commonplace. A string of droughts and hurricanes made starvation likely for the slaves. The Danish governor had re- cently instituted a harsh slave law. Linguist Gilbert A. Sprauve of St. John says that many of the slaves who led the revolt were recently arrived from Akwamu, a warlike nation in Guinea. The Akwamu men despised field work, seeing it as women's work. They were known at home in Africa as great warriors and skillful ne- gotiators with Africans and Europeans. Often, new slaves would be brought to planta- tions on St. John to be broken in. In this case it backfired. Development of Black Cultural Traditions It was common in the West Indies to allow slaves, in their limited free time, to cultivate their own provisions on small tracts near the village to sup- plement the plantation-pro- vided diet. Slaves on St. John engaged in various subsis- tence tasks, but, with no real town on the island, no formal weekly market grew up. How- ever, the informal economy encouraged further develop- ment of cultural traditions and institutions among the slaves and free blacks. Women from St. Thomas, many of them freed, regularly visited the St. John estates to market goods. They usually bartered for fowl, fruits, or small livestock— there was little money on St. John. When plantation society col- lapsed after Emancipation, St. John residents developed a system for shipping cargo— charcoal, fish, and sometimes cattle— to St. Thomas for sale for money. But in the St. John community, barter held sway. As a free port St. Thomas was the commercial hub and m *v» jepr J" offered a variety of jobs. The women might have market stalls, take in laundry, or work as seamstresses, cooks, bak- ers, maids, or coal carriers. Men worked as fishermen, cabinet makers, carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, barbers, and tailors. On St. Croix the job market included work as field hands, sugar boilers, blacksmiths, carpenters, ma- sons, barrel makers, tailors, barbers, shoemakers, farriers, and fishermen. The inset pho- tograph by Fritz Henle, "Bar- gaining for Bananas," shows an island market in 1 948. The hand-colored 1 854 lithograph by Emil Baerentzen shows a freeholder's farm on St. John after the Emancipation in 1848. "•. '': ''•*£ m, 3 • •5&S? . ^ y i m Si* iJR '> £'*]w& *&% g^^* otmi^ &».£ - . ! $ &25* N&&«* 62 *©; Part 4 Sandy Point CARIBBEAN, St. Croix: Christiansted And Salt River Bay Buck Island Reef Na BUCK ISLAND Christiansted National Historic Tague Point Romney int I) CHRISTIANSTED CROIX (83) Vagthus Point rerrall Point Point \ /g2) SEVEN HILLS (60) @) (624) f Grass it.^r^ Point Cottongarden Pt l M * - '^V East Cramer Point Park (Po/nf GOAT HILLS Udglj) Isaac Hughes Point Point Milord ' Point SEA Buck Island Reef National Monument was expanded by 18,135 acres from fed- eral submerged lands by presidential proclamation in 2001. tional Park i lands P '^ ture. Pediments are masonry moldings fashioned from bricks— individually hand- cut by slaves— that have been plastered over. Clockwise from top left, the pedi- ments date from the 1760s, 1770s to 1780s, 1770s to 1780s, and 1790s to 1800. The relative religious tolerance in the Danish West Indies found expressioi. in the variety of architectural detail in some of Christiansted 's churches, nota- bly the curvilinear gables of the Dutch and the Gothic Revival of the English. *?i**j / Otitic)/ /t&4J,riJ»< /8- Ai iftfo/tac ^v», Basket Starfish Self-guiding snorkeling trails are provided at Trunk Bay in Virgin Islands National Park on St. John and at the east end of Buck Island Reef National Monument. The trails are marked by underwater signs that iden- tify coral reef life. Several dive shops on St. John and St. Croix rent snorkel and scuba gear and run trips to offshore reefs. For many people, coming face to face with the stunning colors of the world of the coral reef can be utterly astonishing. Most snorkelers reach Buck Island Reef National Monument's underwater trail via boat trips offered by concessioners under permit from the National Park Service. Maximum water depth in the grottoes there ranges from 12 to 30 feet. Always snorkel with a companion for safety. '**i\ Spiny Sea Urchin vase Sponges above a resting tiger grouper or parrotfish, and you may spot a cleaning goby groom- ing the fish's side— or even its gaping mouth. Marvel at the spiny sea urchin. Its feeding strategy is a crucial balancing fac- tor on the reef. Without such grazers as urchins, parrotfish, surgeonfish, and others, the living corals could be smothered by algae. Much of the reef world lies beyond the snorkeler's sight. Basket starfish (far left, top) are night-time species snorkelers are not apt to see. There is a great deal of noise in the underwater world, too. It's not only wave noise and surf crashing on the reef but the scraping noise of snapping shrimp and parrotfish grazing on the corals. ! Queen Angelfish 7 Parrotfish jm&M&W'^B iflH? fr v %M 1 1 Sergeant Major Damselfish (male) protecting eggs French Angelfish -- KT-& Tiger Grouper One of the crew with Chris- topher Columbus in 1493 died from the effects of a Carib arrow tipped with the sap of the small, yellowish- green and apple-like fruit of the manchineel tree. Sap, leaves, bark, and fruit are poi- sonous. The white sap will cause a burn to the skin, and taking refuge beneath a tree in a rain storm can result in a rash. Touching the eyes after hand contact with a manchi- neel can cause swelling, irrita- tion, or temporary blindness. A.D. 300. Igneri and Arawak peoples used the island as a fishing camp. The Igneri had moved up the Antillean archipelago from South America some 300 years before the date of this site. When Buck Island became a territorial park in 1948, it had been very sparsely settled, but not un- used, since the mid-1700s. After Denmark bought St. Croix from France in 1733, one Diedrich, town clerk of Christiansted, leased Buck Island from the Danish crown. With six to 12 slaves Diedrich oper- ated a small plantation on the island. Primarily they harvested the island's lignum vitae trees. The lum- ber was sold to Europe and to other West Indian islands. Apparently, most trees had been cut down on Buck Island by the 1770s. From the 1790s until the 1850s there was a small, specialized settlement on Buck Island, whose resi- dents maintained a signal station on the mountain peak. Signals guided incoming vessels to avoid mis- haps on the reef system. Those signals were day- time, line-of-sight devices. Near the same spot today, an automated U.S. Coast Guard signal light requires no staffing to do the job. Historically the reef occasionally took its toll. In 1803 the British slave ship General Abercrombie wrecked at Buck Island. The wreck happened just after Denmark had completely stopped its own African slave trade—but not yet emancipated its slaves. After a lengthy legal battle the shipwrecked slaves were taken to the British Virgin Islands. Brit- ain had not yet stopped its own slave trade, so the slaves were promptly auctioned off in those islands. In the 1600s the French had called this island Isle Verte, or green island. The early Danes called it Pockholz or Pocken Eyland—named for the dark green-leaved lignum vitae trees that covered much of its slopes then. An error made in copying a map altered that to read Bocken Eyland. That error, reinforced by the presence of introduced goats, led to the Anglicized name "Buck Island." The goats had had free run of the island beginning in the mid- 1800s. It was a low-maintenance livestock operation. The goats had no predators and could not get off the island. Fencing was not needed. With its forests gone this formerly tropical dry- forest island began to be burned over periodically. Burning improved the forage for the goats. The 112 combined result was considerable environmental change. In fact, we may never know what the origi- nal plant-and-animal community was like. To allow the island to restore itself to more natural condi- tions, all of the remaining feral goats were killed or removed from the island by the late 1940s by St. Croix officials. Between 1965 and 1985, attempts were made to rid Buck Island of the mongoose, another exotic species. The mongoose preys on eggs of both land-nesting birds and turtles. For many years, up through 1980, mongooses and rats consumed up to 100 percent of all sea-turtle eggs or hatchlings on Buck Island. The mongoose now appears all but gone from the island. Efforts are underway to rid Buck Island of the rat, another exotic animal. Rats were exported all over the globe from their original range in northern Europe, usually by accident as hitchhikers on sailing ships. The problem persists today as many other ani- mal species also get hauled about the world unbe- knownst in cargo. In the days of sugar agriculture, the rats caused havoc in Caribbean cane fields by attacking the plants' root systems. The mongooses were imported from India in 1882 to kill the rats. However, mongooses are active by day and rats are active by night, so the intended rat-control never happened. Instead, in the ensuing ecological trag- edy, mongooses wiped out at least one species of lizard and many species of ground-nesting birds. Mongooses also all but negated sea turtle breeding success for many years until recently. With the feral goats now gone and humans no longer setting occasional fires to improve their for- age, trees have begun to recover Buck Island. The original character of its former lignum vitae forest is by no means reestablished, however. Dominant in the beach forest is the manchineel tree, which is hazardous to the touch (see photo on page 112). Buck Island's uplands forest cover also includes frangipani, turpentine, Jamaican caper, manjack, Ginger Thomas, and water mampoo trees. Much of the island's plant life can either scratch or cause some skin irritation, so beware if you go hiking on the island. Manchineel fruit is poisonous, and its bark, leaves, and sap can cause a chemical burn on contact, including blindness. There are organ pipe and turk's cap cactuses on the island's eastern end. Continued on page 120 11 J Coral Reefs Coral reefs have been likened to a metrop- olis with apartment complexes, transporta- tion systems, and multitudes of citizens liv- ing amongst limestone-cement walls built over many centuries. Millions of tiny ani- mals, coral polyps, build the reef structure by erecting around themselves exterior limestone skeletons. Over many millennia living corals together build what one writer calls the largest structures built by other- than-human life. Another suggests that the coral reef "may be the most industrious, pulsating, driven environment on Earth." It has few rivals for biological diversity. On the total global stage, coral reefs may sup- port one third of all fish species and per- haps, altogether, a half-million animal spe- cies. Coral reefs are equated—for richness of life forms and global significance— with tropical rainforests. Yet all this diversity Delicate corals need warm, clear water to stay healthy. Sediments or big changes in temperature can kill them. So can dragged anchors, the touch of human hands, or storms and waves. World-wide, 95 percent of reefs are damaged by pollution, anchors, dynamiting, or overfishing — including with cyanide poison. New coral diseases of not- yet-known origins also threaten reef health. Silt washing down from road or house con- struction smothers the coral reef. Nutrient- rich runoff from sewage or agriculture, and the destruction of coastal wetlands and mangroves affect coral reefs, too. The U.S. Departments of Commerce and the Interior coordinate the U.S. Coral Reef Initiative. The goal is to save these limited but richly significant areas. Worldwide coral reef distribution Venus Sea Fan rising behind corals inhabits a narrow band near the Equator (see map diagram, facing page), and coral reefs cover only 360,000 square miles— less area than Canada's British Columbia. And all this richness builds on basic coopera- tion, a symbiosis. Colonial organisms, corals are made up of polyps that feed by trapping plankton in their tentacles. Inside the polyp live algae of various hues that consume the polyp waste— carbon dioxide and phosphates— to synthesize oxygen and organic compounds that are used in turn by the host polyp. Substantial coral reefs exist in 108 nations, but in 93 of those nations human actions have caused signifi- cant reef deterioration. Can we cooperate in time to save the world's coral reefs? m mWM \ Sea Whips \Sfill? Sea Turtles Sea turtles have existed 150 million years, but all three species found in the Virgin Islands, hawksbill (right), green (below), and leather- back are endangered. Sea turtles need to nest on sandy shorelines, which contributes to their plight. First, natural beaches are fast disappear- ing because of development. Second, while on shore, tur- tles are very vulnerable to predators. Coastal develop- cantly to the introduction of predators that the sea turtle, its eggs, and its hatchlings have no defenses against. While ashore, sea turtles fall prey to human hunters or to poachers— for their flesh, shells, and eggs. And dogs, mongooses, and rats prey on their eggs and hatchlings. Night herons patrol beaches hunting for hatchlings as they scramble from their nest to minutes ashore, a nesting female hawksbill digs a hole with her rear flippers in the upper beach, lays some 140 eggs, covers them with sand, and returns to the sea. The eggs will incubate for two months. Mostly emerging at night, hatchlings race toward the water and an uncertain future. They swim out toward the open sea and drift among rafts of seaweeds for several rge enough to avoid most predators. How they navigate the vast ocean is not yet known. Buck Island Reef National Monument's protected beaches and coral reefs, and the research done here, have contributed to the understanding of the hawks- bill sea turtle in the east- Caribbean. Protecting ci — ral reef habitat and fc irces is essential to t tiles' survival. Endangered Species Threats to biodiversity else- where—habitat loss, exotic species, and overharvesting — also threaten it in the Virgin Islands. The ever-diminishing space for wild plants and ani- mals here makes protected natural areas ever more sig- nificant. Parts of the Virgin Islands provide refuge for animals federally listed as they are refuges for Virgin Islands tree boas, roseate terns, and St. Croix ground lizards. Some species no longer exist on the main islands because of rats, dogs, cats, mongooses, and hu- mans. Clearing land to grow sugar cane and cotton was reat to native id animals in past centuries. Today the threats are road-building, develop- ment, and competition from exotics— plants and animals from other areas introduced by people. The prickly ash and St. Thomas lidflower, for example, federally listed as endangered, still grow in which limits road-building and development. Exotics have pushed some native species into extinction. Mon- gooses may have eradicated the St. Croix ground lizard from that island. They elimi- nated the ground dove, quail, and other ground-nesting birds. Recent loss of nesting l'lll[:-ill««]|»> Croix makes Buck Island's least tern population even more precious. Endangered brown pelicans (photo) nest in their Buck Island rookery and feed in its near-shore waters. Exotic plants also threaten many native plant species, thereby posing wh knows what problems? ^ v \ '" Least terns are diving birds listed as a threatened species in the U.S. Virgin Islands. From April through August, they nest on Buck Island's West Beach, sharing the area with visitors to the national monument. Can you find the camouflaged chick with this adult? The loss of beaches to devel- opment has greatly reduced nesting habitat for species that nest on beaches. Beaches not protected from distur- bance during the nesting sea- son have been hard-hit, too. The birds are harassed and their eggs often destroyed by exotic predators or by people and illegal vehicle use on beaches. Fortunately for the region's sea turtles, the vast environmental alterations to Buck Island did not seriously affect their using it. Hawksbill, leather- back, and green sea turtles, species now protected by federal law, migrate to Buck Island every two to three years in summer. They nest in the shoreline forests and on beaches—see pages 116-117. To pro- tect the sea turtles' nesting activities, the island is closed at sunset. As a further precaution all tent poles, beach umbrellas, and stakes are prohibited on all of the island's beaches. The National Park Service began studying sea tur- tles here in 1975, and the studies continue today. They have focused mainly on the nesting behavior and biology of the hawksbill turtle. Nesting female hawksbills are tagged to find out how often they come back to the same nesting site, how many nests they lay, how successful their nesting and hatching are, and what their nesting habitat needs are. Sea turtle research carried out at Buck Island has pro- vided valuable scientific data about the habits and range of these endangered species. This information has enhanced prospects for their survival through- out the Caribbean. The National Park Service also conducts fish and fisheries censuses in the island's waters and moni- tors the nesting success of brown pelicans. Other natural resources research and monitoring activities center on beetles, exotic plants, native plant restora- tion, mongoose and rat control efforts, nesting by least terns, and seasonal and migratory bird counts. Hurricanes are a natural fact of Caribbean life. They affect life underwater as well as on land. In 1989 Hurricane Hugo's 14 hours of 150-mile-per- hour winds—gusting to 204 mph—moved some of the south forereef crest at Buck Island 90 feet land- ward. The scouring and pounding from the storm waves destroyed nearly all of this forereef and cracked and weakened the reef substrate. Most of the island's other reef areas weathered the storm, however. Some of these were protected from the effects of wave shock by the island's barrier reef structure. In fact, one important ecological role of coral reefs is to buffer shorelines by breaking the phenomenal force of storm-driven waves. In Hurricane Hugo's onslaught more than 80 per- cent of Buck Island beach forest trees were killed 120 but left standing. Especially hard hit were the man- chineel trees. The storm severely cut some shoreline berms. Up to 10 feet of beach were lost to the sea in some areas of the island. This beach erosion and the toppling of trees affected turtle nesting. The criss- crossed downed trees kept the turtles from reaching the beach forest. There were more than double the usual number of incomplete or unsuccessful turtle nesting attempts. These obstacles forced many egg- laden turtles to nest in areas that were threatened by further beach erosion. Hurricanes are natural events, but it is possible that human-caused climate change on a global scale may now be affecting the frequency and strength of hurricanes. In 2001 Buck Island Reef National Monument was expanded by over 18,000 acres of federally owned submerged lands, and the entire area of the monument was made a no-take zone. In the words of the presidential proclamation, there is to be "no extractive use" within the national monument. The expansion of this national monument and the cre- ation of Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monu- ment off St. John both resulted from an executive order mandating the protection of coral reefs wher- ever found within federally owned waters. That mandate recognizes the worldwide threats to the health of coral reef ecosystems, which are of great value for biodiversity generally and serve as nurs- eries for many species of fish and crustaceans. Certainly, Buck Island proves the wisdom of protecting natural areas. As sanctuaries for undis- turbed natural processes, protected natural areas perpetuate the warp and weave of the fabric of our world. However, the threat of global climate change also makes it clear that Buck Island and its reef, or other national parklands, cannot be fully protected exclusively within the confines of their own small space on planet Earth. Nor can any other U.S. Vir- gin Island. It will take a wider, more far-reaching wisdom to perpetuate our planet's natural fabric. Just as Buck Island is an island on Earth, so Earth itself is like an island in our solar system. Ecologic- ally, as one naturalist has said, no island is an island entire of itself. Roseate terns are listed as endangered throughout the Caribbean. The U.S. Virgin Islands now provide one of this tern's largest nesting areas. Ill Visiting the Parklands: Safety and Management Concerns Safety Don't let sunburn ruin your Caribbean stay. Protect against overexposure to tropi- cal sunlight with sunscreen, hat, and shirt. Sun rays are most intense between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Remember: a hat does not pro- tect your face and neck against sun rays reflected off the water surface. Watch tops of your feet and the tips of your ears, too. You may want to wear a T-shirt to protect your back while snorkeling. Any time of year, wearing cotton clothes light in color and weight is recommended in daytime. In winter you may sometimes want a light jacket in late evening and early morning. If you hike on St. John or Buck Island, trousers can help protect you against biting or stinging insects and plants with thorns or stickers. Temperatures range in the low 70°s F to upper 80s December through April and somewhat higher—mid-80s to mid-90s—May through November. Increase your intake of nonalcoholic beverages in this tropical environment. Doctors suggest eight glasses daily. Beware of unfamiliar plants. Some, such as manchineel, are extremely poisonous see page 112. Also toxic are lucky nut tree, poinsettia, oleander, and yucca or century plant. Mango may cause allergic reactions; eat only a little at first. There are many other hazardous plants on these islands. Use repellent against biting insects. Take care of cuts, scrapes, and scratches right away—in the tropics infection sets in quickly. And salt water does carry bacte- ria. Slow to heal or inflamed? See a doctor right away! Drive on the left as required by Virgin Islands law. American-made cars put the driver on the shoulder-side of the road, not toward the center. Practice in a park- ing lot before taking to the road. Drive slowly and defensively, especially on twist- ing roads. Outside urban areas watch out for donkeys or livestock around the next curve. Buckle-up for safety: it's the law! Beware of feral donkeys (those that have gone wild) on St. John. Unsuspecting humans may find them innocent-looking. However, they can bite and kick and cause grave injury. Do not approach or feed them or any wild or feral animals. Beware of heavy surf. Where water deepens sharply offshore, large waves may break near the water's edge. Undertows may accompany large waves. Never swim alone. Respect all warning notices—they protect both you and these parks' natural and cultural features. Do not climb on the walls of historic structures or ruins. They can be unstable, and bodily injury can result. Watch your step on hiking trails and don't become too distracted by the beauti- ful scenery! Hurricane season, June 1 to November 30, usually peaks in September and Octo- ber. Contact park visitor centers or a park ranger for information about storms—and taking shelter during serious storms. Management Concerns Vehicle rentals are available on St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas. Go for a vehicle with a trunk so you can lock valuables out of sight. Parking is limited in the Virgin Islands. Rental vehicles may be needed to get to many places on St. Croix and St. John. In the main tourist season, reserve rentals well ahead. Check with your insur- ance agent about appropriate coverage. Heed posted speed limits—there are nar- row shoulders, sharp curves, and limited visibility. Ask your rental agent about local driving and parking regulations. Your dri- ver's license from the U.S. mainland is good for 90 days in the U.S. Virgin Islands. If your license is from elsewhere, you must get a 30-day Virgin Islands operator's per- mit—check with a Virgin Islands Police 122 Access to Information Department Motor Vehicle Bureau at Golden Grove on St. Croix, Cruz Bay on St. John, or the Sub Base on St. Thomas. Conserving water is essential. Don't let water run while brushing teeth, shampoo- ing, shaving, or showering. Wet down, turn off water, soap up, then rinse off. Limit the number of toilet flushings. Ask at your lodging for more water-conservation tips. Be aware of your personal safety and take practical precautions to avoid crime. Contact the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism for a list of safety tips. Ask park rangers and your lodging's staff about areas to avoid, especially at night. Do not get into a car whose operator says it is a taxi unless it is clearly marked as a taxi. Taxis have domed tops; their license plates begin with TP on St. Thomas, CP on St. Croix, and JP on St. John. Do not leave your belongings unattended and visible far up a beach while you swim, especially at more remote areas. Pets require a health certificate from a veterinarian to be admitted to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Contact the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism for requirements before you bring a pet. Coral is very fragile and easily damaged by anchors, human touch and feet, or flip- pers. Remember: "If it's not sand, don't stand." Emergency Phone Numbers Dial 911 on St. Thomas Dial 911 on St. Croix Dial 911 on St. John For hospital emergencies call: 778-6311 on St. Croix 776-6400 (medical clinic) on St. John 776-8311 on St. Thomas Telephone and Internet The "Quick Facts" page for each island lists phone numbers and Internet sites for its National Park System areas. Find infor- mation about the National Park Service and the more than 380 areas that make up the National Park System at www.nps.gov on the Internet. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism www.usvi.org/tourism P.O. Box 6400 St. Thomas, VI 00804-6400 340-774-8784 or P.O. Box 4538 Christiansted, VI 00822 340-773-0495 Accessible Lodging To research wheelchair-accessible lodging, ask the department of tourism for its "Rates" brochure. Find out which hotels have accessible facilities. Call those hotels and ask specific questions related to your needs. 123 Further Reading Armchair Explorations Anderson, John Lorenzo. Night of the Silent Drums (historical fiction about the 1733 slave revolt on St. John), (1975) 1992. Bailey, Katharine R. and Gloria Bourne. U.S. Virgin Islands: Jewels of the Carib- bean, 1986 (1992). Barlow, Virginia. The Nature of the Islands: Plants and Animals of the Eastern Caribbean, 1993. Benjamin, Guy. Me and My Beloved Virgin, 1981. Benjamin, Guy. More Tales from Me and My Beloved Virgin, 1983. Brettell, Richard R. and Karen Zukow- ski. Camille Pissarro in the Caribbean, 1850-1855: Drawings from the Collection at Olana, 1996. Brown, Susan. Victorian Frederiksted, 1981. Damman, Arthur E. and David W. Nellis. A Natural History Atlas to the Cays of the U.S. Virgin Islands, 1992. Glissant, Edouard and J. Michael Dash, translator. Caribbean Discourse: Selected Essays, 1992. Highfield, Arnold R. St. Croix 1493: An Encounter of Two Worlds, 1995. Humann, Paul. Reef Coral Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas, Including Marine Plants, 1993. Humann, Paul. Reef Creature Identifica- tion: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas, 1990. Humann, Paul. Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas, 1994. Jadan, Doris. A Guide to the Natural History of St. John, 1985. Knox, John Pary. A Historical Account of St. Thomas, W.I., 1852 (1970). Kurlansky, Mark. A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny, 1992. Lenihan, Daniel J. and John D. Brooks. Underwater Wonders of the National Parks: A Diving and Snorkeling Guide, 1998. Lewisohn, Florence. St. Croix Under Seven Flags, 1970. MacLean, William P. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Virgin Islands, 1982. Nellis, David W. Poisonous Plants and Animals of Florida and the Caribbean, 1997. Nellis, David W. Seashore Plants of South Florida and the Caribbean, 1997. Paiewonsky, Isidor. The Burning of a Pirate Ship La Trompeuse in the Harbour of St. Thomas, July 31, 1683, and Other Tales, 1992. Parry, J.H., P.M. Sherlock, and Anthony Maingot. A Short History of the West Indies, 1987. Raffaele, Herbert A. A Guide to the Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Is- lands, 1990. Randall, John E. Caribbean Reef Fishes, third revised edition 1996. Robinson, Alan H. with Fritz Henle. Virgin Islands National Park: The Story Behind the Scenery, 1914 (1982). Rouse, Irving. The Tainos: Rise & De- cline of the People Who Greeted Colum- bus, 1992 (1993). Singer, Gerald. St. John Off the Beaten Track, 1996. Taylor, Charles Edwin. Leaflets from the Danish West Indies, 1888 (1970). Thomas, Toni, Rudy G. O'Reilly Jr., and Olasee Davis. Traditional Medicinal Plants of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John:A Selection of 68 Plants, 1997. Tyson, George F. and Arnold R. High- field, editors. The Kamina Folk: Slavery and Slave Life in the Danish West Indies, 1994. Walcott, Derek. The Antilles: Fragments of Epic Memory, The Nobel Lecture, 1992. Williams, Eric. From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean 1492- 1969, 1984. 124 Credits and Acknowledgements Credits The National Park Service thanks all the people who made the preparation and production of this handbook possible. Thanks to the staffs of Christiansted National Historic Site and Virgin Islands National Park: Rafe Boulon, William F. Cissel, Mindy deCesar, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Don Near, Paul Thomas, and Chuck Weikert. Ricardo E. Alegria, Arnold R. Highfield, and Gilbert A. Sprauve were consultants for the Richard Schlecht illus- trations. Picture research was by Linda Sykes. Thanks to other supporting offices at Harpers Ferry Center. This handbook was prepared by the staff of the Division of Publications, Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service: Angie Faulkner, designer; Tom Patterson and Lori Sim- mons, cartographers; and Ed Zahniser, writer and editor. Picture Sources Photos and artwork not credited below are from the files of Christiansted Nation- al Historic Site, Virgin Islands National Park, and the National Park Service. Most materials may not be reproduced without written permission of their owners or copyright holders. Covers Steve Simonsen; inside covers Mapes Mon- des; 2-3 Steve Simonsen; 4-5 Carol Lee; 6-7 Bob Krist; 10 Steve Simonsen; 11 Germanisches Na- tional Museum, Nuremberg; 12-14 Steve Simonsen; 20 Naru Innui; 21 Carol Lee; 22 Jordan Provost; 23 Carol Lee; 24-27 flags Flag Institute Enterprises Ltd; 28-29 Steve Simonsen; 32 Carol Lee; 33 Rain- bow/William McCoy; 34-35 Werner Bertsch/Bruce Coleman, Inc.; 36 Image Bank/Andre Gallant; 38 William F. Cissel; 39 Culver Pictures; 40-41 Henle Archive Trust/Maria Henle Studio; 42 William F. Cissel; 43 Image Bank/Marvin Newman; 44 Steve Simonsen except schoolgirl Image Bank/Andre Gallant; 45 Steve Simonsen except horses Bob Krist; 48 Tom Bean; 50-51 Shari Erickson courtesy of Wicker Wood & Shells Gallery, Cruz Bay, St. John; 52 Franklin Viola/Comstock; 54-55 Tom Bean; 56 tamarind Photo Researchers/Doug Millar; calabash Don Hebert; kapok Minden Pictures/Jim Brandenburg; 57 flamboyant and eyelash orchid Steve Simonsen; century Rainbow/Dan McCoy; lobster claw Wolfgang Kaehler; 58-59 Tom Bean; 60 Steve Simonsen; 61 Bob Krist; 62-63 Karen Barnes/NPS except 63 booby Steve Simonsen; 66- 67 Steve Simonsen; 68-69 Richard Schlecht/NPS; 70-71 Mapes Monde; 71 market Henle Archive Trust/Maria Henle Studio; 72-73 Bob Krist; 76 Carol Lee; 78-79 William F. Cissel; 80 Carol Lee; 82 Rigsarkivet, Copenhagen; 83 Carol Lee; 84-85 Richard Schlecht/NPS; 86-87 Steve Simonsen; 88-89 St. Croix Landmarks Society; 90 Richard Schlecht/ NPS; 91 Peale Collection, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia; 92-93 Rigsarkivet, Copenhagen; 93 inset William F. Cissel; 94-95 town plan Rigsarkivet, Copenhagen; photos Carol Lee; 96-97 children Mapes Monde; 97 Sunday Market William F. Cissel; 98 William F. Cissel; 100-101 Cary Wolinsky/Tony Stone Images; 104 Bob Krist; 105 Steven Krasemann/Photo Researchers; 106-108 Steve Simonsen; 110 basket starfish Charles Seaborn/Odyssey, urchin Doug Perrine/Innerspace Visions, sponge Al Grotel; 111 queen angelfish Al Grotel; parrotfish Steve Simonsen; damselfish, french angelfish, and grouper Doug Perrine/Inner- space Visions; trunkfish Charles V Angelo/Photo Researchers; 114 Steve Simonsen; 115 brain Doug Perrine/Innerspace Visions, elkhorn Steve Simon- sen, whips Al Grotel, pillar Robert Frerck/Odyssey; 116-117 Marc Chamberlain/Tony Stone Images; 117 inset, Solvin Zankl; 118-119 George Lepp/Tony Stone Images; 120 Solvin Zankl; 121 Jorge Saliva. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data U.S. Virgin Islands : a guide to national parklands in the United States Virgin Islands / produced by the Division of Publications, National Park Service p. cm. - (National Park handbook series ; 157) Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-912627-68-9 (pbk.) 1, National parks and reserves-Virgin Islands of the United States-Guidebooks. 2. Virgin Islands of the United States-History Guidebooks. I. United States. National Park Service. Division of Publica- tions. II. Handbook (United States. National Park Service. Division of Publications) ; 157. F2136 .U553 2001 917.297'2204-dc21 &GPO:1999-454-765/00003 Printed on recycled paper 2001. 125 U.S. Virgin Islands Index Numbers in italics refer to photographs, Agriculture 64, 92 Annaberg: school 25; sugar plantation 24, 44 Animals: 6-7, 15, 53, 55, 86, 99,111,113,114-15,119,122; extinct 118-19; food 53; hab- itat 116-17; refuges 118-19. See also Coral reef Archeology 53, 84, 90-91 Architecture 38, 92-95 Ball court 84-85, 87 Beach conditions 49, 58, 116, 120 Biological diversity 64, 65; See also Coral reef Biosphere Reserve 26, 65 Birds: 62-63, 87, 118-19, 120, 121 Blackbeard (Edward Teach) 38, 39; Tower 30-31, 39 Bluebeard Castle 30-31, 38, 39,42-43 British Virgin Islands 24, 65 Buck Island Reef National Monument: 2-3, 112; animal life 110-11, 116-17, 120; established 27, 105, 109; expanded 27, 121; geological formation 22; history 112; map 75, 102-3; Observation Point 103; settlement 109, 112; signal station 112; size 105; tourism 105; transporta- tion 45, 105; vegetation 112- 13, 120; West Beach 102, 104, 109, 120 Buddhoe (John Gottliff) 98 Caribbean Sea: area and depth 11; map 8-9, 16-17, 18-19 Carnival 4-5, 32, 33, 44 Cays 58-59, 62, 63, 78-79, 93, 118 Charlotte Amalie 30-31, 37 Children 36, 42, 44, 96-97 Christiansted: architecture 82, 94-95; commerce 92-93, 97; establishment 26; harbor 83, 90, 92-93; National His- toric Site 27, 75; plantations 25; tourism 45 Christiansvaern, Fort: floor plan 82; history 81, 83; site 80; visitor center 77, 105 Cinnamon Bay: Beach 53; Loop Trail 60 Climate 20, 22, 122 Columbus: voyages 20, 23, 24, 91, 112; Salt River Bay 45, 85; St. Croix 81, 91, 98 Commerce 18-19, 26, 92-93 Coral 58-59; 66-67, 105, 115; 123. See also Sea fan Coral reef: biological diver- sity 23, 28-29, 114; character- istics 99, 109; ecology 67, 114-15, 120; fish 52, 56, 66- 67,106-7,108,109,110-11; NPS monitoring 66-67; photo covers, 52-53, 86-87, 114-15; shipwrecks 112; size 23,25-29,115 Cotton 56, 89, 92 Cruise ships 27, 34-35, 37, 90 Culture: blacks 70-71; events 44; Igneri 24; Taino 90; tradi- tions 20, 22-23 Danish West India & Guinea Company 24, 92 Denmark: architecture 38; Danish West Indies 18, 25, 82, 90-97; slave trade 24, 97, 112 Ecology 60, 64, 113, 120; coral reefs role 120; Salt River Bay 86-87 Economy 37, 88-89, 90 Education 22, 26 Endangered species 87, 118- 19 Ethnicity 38, 41 Ethnobotany 56 Farm 70-71 Fish 58-59, 66-67, 86-87, 99, 106-8,109,110-11 Fishermen 40 Food20,21,25,99, 100-101 Forest: 54, 62, 99, 112; dam- age to 120-21; Virgin Islands National Park 57 Frederiksted 26, 74, 90 Ghana. See Guinea Gold Coast 23 Great Thatch Island 65, 72- 73 Guinea: 19, 69, 97; fowl 97 Habitat 118-19 Hamilton, Alexander 91, 92 Handicraft 60, 61 Hassel Island 27, 33, 5S Historians 23, 55, 66, 69 Hurricane 17, 90, 95, 120, 121, 122 Indian, American 55 Indian, Carib: battles and extermination 24, 81; canoe 85; Christianity 98; as con- querors 20, 84; culture 22- 23, 83, 91; migration 18 Igneri 112 Labor 27, 88; union 27 Leeward Islands 9, 20 Magens Bay 31,40 Maho Bay 14, 15 Mangrove 86-87, 99 Maps: 8-9; 16-19; 30-31; 46- 47; 74-75, 102-103 Markets: Christiansted 97; St. John 70-77; St. Thomas 20, 21; Slavery 24, 25 Mocko Jumbi 20, 44 126 National Park Service 23, 120 Newspapers 26, 27, 91 Painting 50-51, 84-85, 88-89, 92-93 Panama Canal 18 Piracy 25, 38 Plantation economy 90. See also Sugar: plantation Plants 53, 57, 113, 118-19; diversity 54, 66, 99; extinct 1 18-19; photos 55, 56-57; 78- 79; toxic 112, 113, 122 Polyps, coral 114-115 Population 24-25, 26, 36 Puerto Rico 11, 23, 98 Ram Head 48, 55 Recreation 2-5, 12-13, 39, 44-45,49,77,109,110,122. See also Water sports Reef Bay Trail 60, 64 Religion 44, 45, 93 Rockefellers 24, 60, 64, 65 Rolex Regatta 12-13, 15 Rum 18, 89, 92 Safety tips 33, 49, 77, 105, 112, 113, 122-23 Sailing 12-13 St. Croix: architecture 82, 94-95, 100-101; Carib Indi- ans 20, 91, 98; Christiansted National Historic Site 27; Christiansted settlement 99; Columbus 91; culture 81; economy 27, 82-83; food production 99; foreign con- trol 81; geology 22; history 24-27; 81-83; 90-91; 98-99; map 74-75; population size 23; slavery 25, 96-97; sugar production 22, 27, 81, 89; Taino 22; tourism 39, 45, 77; windmill and tower 76. See also Taino (Arawak) St. John 72-73: cultural his- tory 64-65; economy 64-65; earthquakes 22; ferry 41; geology 22; health clinic 49; history 24-27; map 46-47; plantation 89; population 23, 53-54; size 49; slave revolt 53, 64-65, 68-69; sugar pro- duction 24, 53; terrain 53; tourism 39, 49 St. Thomas: animals 33; architecture 38; commerce 26; cruise ships 27; culture 20; ethnicity 38-39; geology 22; government 26; history 24-27, 37, 39; map 30-31; population 23; plantation 89; recreation 33; shopping 37, 38; terrain 33; trade 37, 38; tourism 33 Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecologi- cal Preserve 20, 27, 45, 74; Columbus 85; ecology 86-87; fort 20, 98; population 23, 81, 84; settlement 98-99; sugar plantation 99 Sea fan 66-67, 114 Sea turtle 66, 87, 113, 776- 77; 120, 121 Settlement, European 24-27, 85,56,98 Slavery 70-71: Buck Island 112; Denmark 24, 97, 112; emancipations 26, 83; Great Britain 112; markets 24-25; revolts 24, 26, 55, 64, 68-69, 81, 90; population 25, 26; St. Croix 25, 96-97; St. John 53, 64-64; schools 25; Taino 84, 85; trade 18-19, 24, 25, 96 Species, endangered 118-20 Sugar: industry 82-83, 88, 90; plantation 24, 44, 53, 56, 60, 88-89, 99; production 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 53, 81; trade 18, 81,92 Taino (Arawak) 24, 64, 112; 77; culture 49, 83, 84-85, 90; food producers 53, 54; histo- ry 55; settlement 22-23, 81, 84-85; slavery 20, 85, 98 Tourist information 11, 33, 49, 77, 105, 122-23 Trade routes 18-19, 112 Transportation 45, 77 Truck garden 99, 700-707 Trunk Bay & Cay 58-59, 110 Underwater life 770-77 United States: Coral Reef Initiative 114; flag 27, 81, 90; Navy 27; Virgin Islands pur- chase 18, 26, 92 Virgin Islands: biological diversity 15; climate 11, 16; components 15; culture 20; forest 54, 56; geology 24; government commercial policies 20, 24-27; history 98; location 11, 15, 20; name ori- gin 98; population 23, 84; U.S. purchase 26, 39, 83, 92 Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument 27, 49, 53, 64, 65, 121; map 46-47 Virgin Islands National Park: Biosphere Reserve 26, 65; dedication 26; ecology 60, 64; map 46-47; origin 60; plants 118-19; size 65; snor- keling 110. See also Hassel Island; St. Thomas; Tourism Visitor Centers 30-31, 46-47, 49, 74-75, 77, 105 Water sports 2-3, 10, 28-29, 45, 49, 77, 704, 105, 109, HO- 11 West Indies (Antilles) 15, 20, 99; map 9 Windmill 24, 76, 88-89, 90 Windward Islands 9, 20 127 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior The mission of the Department of the Interior is to pro- tect and provide access to our nation's natural and cultural heritage and to honor our trust responsibilities to tribes. The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the nat- ural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. Buck Island Reef National Monument Christiansted National Historic Site Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument Virgin Islands National Park W* 7*\ R Its beaches, azure blue waters, and coral reefs are "out of this world," but the U.S. Virgin Islands are real places and home to people with real histories. Five National Park System sites help these Carib- bean islands preserve both the marvels of nature and their rich human stories. Island-by-island "Quick Facts" travel tips andfull-color maps, original illustrations, historical artwork, educa- tional features, and more than 80 souvenir-quality color photographs make this handbook an essen- tial travel tool. Jibra j&am I www.nps.gov