2014 Edition
CIA World Factbook 2014 Archive (HTML)
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 US 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
Area
- 5.4 sq km 5.4 sq km 0 sq km
- total
- 5.4 sq km
- water
- 0 sq km
Area - comparative
about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Climate
marine, tropical
Coastline
8 km
Elevation extremes
- Caribbean Sea 0 m unnamed elevation on southwest side 77 m
- highest point
- unnamed elevation on southwest side 77 m
- lowest point
- Caribbean Sea 0 m
Environment - current issues
NA
Geographic coordinates
18 25 N, 75 02 W
Geography - note
strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock with numerous solution holes (limestone sinkholes) but with enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig trees, scattered cactus
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
- 0% 0% 100% (2011)
- arable land
- 0%
- other
- 100% (2011)
- permanent crops
- 0%
Location
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, 35 miles west of Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims
- 12 nm 200 nm
- exclusive economic zone
- 200 nm
- territorial sea
- 12 nm
Natural hazards
hurricanes
Natural resources
guano
Terrain
raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating; ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 m high)
People and Society
Population
uninhabited transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the island
Government
Country name
- none Navassa Island
- conventional long form
- none
- conventional short form
- Navassa Island
Dependency status
unorganized, 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
Diplomatic representation from the US
none (territory of the US)
Flag description
the flag of the US is used
Legal system
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
Economy
Economy - overview
Subsistence fishing and commercial trawling occur within refuge waters.
Transportation
Ports and terminals
none; offshore anchorage only
Military and Security
Military - note
defense is the responsibility of the US
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international
claimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing