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Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Friday, 13 December 2024 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Caribbean / Karibik
Category/Kategorie: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post Saint Croix (Spanish: Santa Cruz; Dutch: Sint-Kruis; French: Sainte-Croix; Danish; Norwegian: Sankt Croix; Taino: Ay Ay) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States.

St. Croix is the largest of the territory’s islands. As of the 2020 U.S. census, its population was 41,004. The island’s highest point is Mount Eagle, at 355 meters (1,165 ft). St. Croix’s nickname is “Twin City”, for its two towns, Frederiksted on the western end and Christiansted on the northeast part of the island.

St. Croix was once an agricultural powerhouse in the Caribbean, but that period ended with the rapid industrialization of the island’s economy in the 1960s. As on many other Caribbean islands today, tourism is one of St. Croix’s main sources of revenue. A number of other industries contribute to its economy.

Points of interest: Frederiksted maintains its Victorian era architecture and original seven-street-by-seven-street design, and has several historic structures. Among them are St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, built in the 1840s, and its primary school, the Customs House; the 19th-century Apothecary; and many other buildings, some of which hurricanes have transformed into scenic ruins. Frederiksted operates at a more relaxed pace than most of the island, and is more lively during Carnival in January and whenever visiting cruise ships are in port.

Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve contains the only known site where members of a Columbus expedition set foot on what is now U.S. territory. It also preserves upland watersheds, mangrove forests, and estuarine and marine environments that support threatened and endangered species. The site is marked by Fort Salé, an earthworks fortification from French occupation, dating to around 1617. The park preserves prehistoric and colonial-era archeological sites, including the Caribbean’s only extant ball court. This is one of two sites on the island for bioluminescent bays (the other being Altona Lagoon).

Fort Christiansværn, built in 1749, and other buildings are maintained by the National Park Service as the Christiansted National Historic Site.

Buck Island Reef National Monument preserves a 176 acres (71 ha) island just north of St. Croix and the surrounding reefs. It is a popular destination for snorkelers. Buck Island maintains a U.S. Coast Guard weather station and is home to a student-monitored lemon shark breeding ground. Green Cay (pronounced green key) is a small island southwest of Buck Island managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It hosts a nearby reef popular among scuba divers and snorkelers, Tamarind Reef.

The farmer’s market (1 Estate, Kingshill, 00850, St. Croix) offers local fruit and vegetables, as well as plants, local food, and juice. The outdoor vendors open every Saturday from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m., sometimes longer. The farmer’s market is open year-round.

The St. Croix National Heritage Area was established by the National Heritage Area Act in 2022 to help preserve and promote historic and cultural sites across the island.

The waters surrounding St. Croix are warm year-round, with temperatures ranging from 25°C (77°F) – 30°C (86°F), making it a popular destination for watersports including scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding, surfing, kite surfing, parasailing, jet skiing, fishing, and sailing. Two of the island’s most popular underwater sites for scuba divers are the Frederiksted Pier and the drop-off into deep water at Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve. Frederiksted is known for reef diving and access to wreck diving. The island’s western side has calm waters that allow snorkeling with access from the beach. Paddleboarding is popular near Frederiksted for the same reason. The Frederiksted Pier attracts scuba divers and snorkelers, as well as those who simply jump off it. The shallow water and sandy bottom around the pier are ideal for recreational diving by novice scuba divers in PADI Discover Scuba Diving programs (also called resort diving), for extended shore diving, night diving, and for underwater photography, especially of its abundant seahorse population. A few hundred meters off the northern coast of the island, from Salt River to Cane Bay, the bottom drops suddenly into a deep trench, where coral reefs, abundant tropical fish, and migrant sea turtles may be observed. Kayaking is also popular in the Salt River. Christiansted, a short distance from Buck Island and Green Cay, is a former capital of the Danish West Indies. It lies just east of the northern underwater drop-off and is protected by a reef. Protected areas are:

• Buck Island Reef National Monument, managed by the National Park Service (a federal agency)
• Christiansted National Historic Site, managed by the National Park Service (a federal agency)
• Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (a federal agency)
• Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, co-managed by the Territory of the Virgin Islands and the National Park Service (a federal agency)
• Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (a federal agency)
• Point Udall
• St. Croix East End Marine Park: managed by the Government of the Virgin Islands through the Department of Planning and Natural Resources’ Division of Coastal Zone Management

The island’s largest festival, Crucian Christmas Carnival, is celebrated on St. Croix throughout late December and early January. Another significant festival is the Agricultural and Food Fair, held in mid-February.

Several times a year, there is a nighttime festival in Christiansted called “Jump-Up” and a monthly event called “Sunset Jazz” in Frederiksted, where local jazz musicians play on Frederiksted Beach. Every year on the Saturday before Mardi Gras, there is a local Mardi Croix parade and a dog parade through the North Shore.

The St. Croix Half Ironman Triathlon is held in the first week of May. It includes a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. Because the bicycle route includes a ride up an extremely steep hill known as “The Beast”, this triathlon is often nicknamed “Beauty and the Beast”.

Read more on VisitStCroix.com, visitusvi.com – St Croix, VisitTheUSA.com – St. Croix, Wikivoyage Saint Croix and Wikipedia Saint Croix (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.