Virgin Islands facts
While investigating facts about Virgin Islands Map and Virgin Islands News, I found out little known, but curios details like:
Tim Duncan grew up in the US Virgin Islands where he was gearing up for the 1992 Olympics as a competitive swimmer until Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island's only Olympic-sized pool. The only alternative was to swim in the ocean, and Duncan was afraid of sharks, so he turned to basketball.
how many virgin islands are there?
There is an island in Ethiopia where Christian Ethiopians claim to have kept the Ark of Covenant for thousands of years. It is watched over by a single man with no name known as the "Guardian" and no woman are allowed on the island for fear of "stirring the passions" of the virgins on the island
Where is the virgin islands located at?
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what virgin islands are us territory. Here are 50 of the best facts about Virgin Islands Resorts and Virgin Islands Vacation I managed to collect.
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Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam are independently participating in the Olympic games even though they are US territories and the athletes are US Citizens.
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People of the British Virgin Islands are British and EU citizens but the offical currency is USD, and they drive on the left side of the road but the cars are left hand drive.
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Basketball legend Tim Duncan was a teenage champion swimmer in the Virgin Islands. When Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island's only Olympic-sized swimming pool in 1989, Duncan was forced to swim in the ocean and he quickly lost his enthusiasm for swimming because of his fear of sharks
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Although 74-acre Necker Island is entirely privately owned by Richard Branson and rents for US$82,000 a night, all beaches up to the high-water mark are Crown land, and are open to the public under British Virgin Islands law.
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The indigenous population of the U.S. Virgin Islands was wiped out by means of slave labour on Sugarcane farms.
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There are more than 800 species of plants found in Virgin Islands National Park including coconut palms, seagrape trees, and mangroves.
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Christopher Columbus saw the Virgin Islands and named them the Islands of Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins.
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The coral reefs of Virgin Islands National Park almost encircle the park completely. The reefs change on a regular basis as new species of coral make their way into the area, replacing older species.
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The United States violates article 9 of the Geneva convention on road traffic by allowing the U.S. Virgin islands to drive on the left side of the road.
Why are they called the virgin islands?
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Lesser Antilles includes the U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Martin, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, and Guadeloupe.
America Samoa is the only place in the United States where U.S. citizenship is not granted at birth. Anyone born in the 50 states, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—automatically becomes a citizen, but not Am Samoa. - source
Turtles are common in park, but they usually are found only in the water - coming ashore to nest at certain times of the year. The hawksbill turtles and green turtles are the most common while the leatherback turtles are rarely seen.
There are seven sea turtle species found around the world. Of those seven, three are found in Virgin Island National Park.
The United States purchase the Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1915, for $25 million. - source
When is hurricane season in the virgin islands?
In 1928, a German sailor named Franz Romer crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Lisbon, Portugal to the Virgin Islands, a trip lasting 58 days. This is nothing special, even for the early twentieth century, except for the fact that he made this trip by himself in a small kayak
How safe are the us virgin islands?
Trunk Bay has a beach that has been voted one of the Ten Best Beaches in the World by a variety of notable travel publications such as Conde Nast Traveler. National Geographic Society ranked the beach as the best in the world.
The only mammal species native to Virgin Islands National Park is the bats. Other animals that can be found in the park or surrounding regions include donkeys, sheep, goats, deer, pigs, mongoose, and cats and dogs. These are not native to the Virgin Islands and were brought by settlers and later inhabitants.
There is a very diverse population of wildlife at Virgin Islands National Park. Visitors can watch for 140 bird species, 302 fish species, 7 amphibian species, 22 mammal species, and roughly 50 species of coral, as well as sponges and gorgonians.
Unlike the rest of the United States, the US Virgin Islands drives on the left side of the road.
There is a heart-shaped island in Australia. The island is currently owned by Virgin Australia founding partners, Brett Godfrey and Sir Richard Branson. The island is previously known as Pig Island.
