navassa island

Navassa Island

Introduction

   Background:  This uninhabited island was claimed by the US in 1857
                for its guano. Mining took place between 1865 and 1898.
                The lighthouse, built in 1917, was shut down in 1996
                and administration of Navassa Island transferred from
                the Coast Guard to the Department of the Interior. A
                1998 scientific expedition to the island described it
                as a unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity; the
                following year it became a National Wildlife Refuge and
                annual scientific expeditions have continued.

Geography

     Location:  Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, 35 miles west
                of Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti

    Geographic  18 25 N, 75 02 W
  coordinates:

           Map  Central America and the Caribbean
   references:

         Area:  total: 5.4 sq km
                land: 5.4 sq km
                water: 0 sq km

        Area -  about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
  comparative:

          Land  0 km
   boundaries:

    Coastline:  8 km

      Maritime  territorial sea: 12 nm
       claims:  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

      Climate:  marine, tropical

      Terrain:  raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating;
                ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 m high)

     Elevation  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
     extremes:  highest point: unnamed location on southwest side 77 m

       Natural  guano
    resources:

     Land use:  arable land: 0%
                permanent crops: 0%
                other: 100% (2005)

       Natural  hurricanes
      hazards:

 Environment -  NA
       current
       issues:

   Geography -  strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at
         note:  Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock but with
                enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of
                fig-like trees, scattered cactus

People

   Population:  uninhabited
                note: transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on
                the island (July 2006 est.)

Government

 Country name:  conventional long form: none
                conventional short form: Navassa Island

    Dependency  unincorporated territory of the US; administered by the
       status:  Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the
                Interior, from the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife
                Refuge in Boqueron, Puerto Rico; in September 1996, the
                Coast Guard ceased operations and maintenance of
                Navassa Island Light, a 46-meter-tall lighthouse on the
                southern side of the island; there has also been a
                private claim advanced against the island

 Legal system:  the laws of the US, where applicable, apply

          Flag  the flag of the US is used
  description:

Economy

     Economy -  Subsistence fishing and commercial trawling occur
     overview:  within refuge waters.


Transportation

     Ports and  none; offshore anchorage only
    terminals:

Military

    Military -  defense is the responsibility of the US
         note:

Transnational
Issues

    Disputes -  claimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing
international: