The U.S. Virgin Islands are an eastern Caribbean chain of islands located about 1,100 miles from Miami. The three main islands include St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas, but there are a number of surrounding cays to explore.
Cay Definition
Cays are small islands. There are 56 cays located around the U.S. Virgin Islands. Most range in size from 5 to 50 acres, although some are just tiny pinnacles of bare rock, and some are as large as 500 acres.
Geographical Features
The rock pinnacle cays are typically bare, and serve only as roosting places for birds. Some of the larger cays have vegetation, salt water ponds, beaches and wildlife, which mostly consists of migratory and resident sea birds. Many cays have complex reef systems.
Governance
A few cays are privately owned, but most belong to the Virgin Islands government. Ten of the cays belong to the U.S. federal government. Of these, eight belong to the National Park Service and two are deemed national wildlife refuges.
Ecological Importance
Many of the cays serve as the only nesting site for certain species of sea birds. Hunting and poaching are illegal but difficult to control due to the cays' remote location.
