Navassa Island
Navassa Island as the 2006 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 26 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, 35 miles west of Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti
16 fieldsLand useshare of 5.4 sq km
Terrain
raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating; ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 m high)
Geography - note
- strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba;
- mostly exposed rock but with enough grassland to support goat herds;
- dense stands of fig-like trees, scattered cactus
People
1 fieldPopulation
uninhabited note: transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the island (July 2006 est.)
Government
4 fieldsDependency status
- unincorporated territory of the US;
- administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, from the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Boqueron, Puerto Rico;
- 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
Economy
Subsistence fishing and commercial trawling occur within refuge waters.
1 fieldTransportation
1 fieldMilitary
1 fieldTransnational Issues
1 fieldCite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Navassa Island.” The World Factbook 2006. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/navassa-island/2006.