Navassa Island: A Photographic Tour (1998 - 1999)

Navassa Island Home Explore Navassa take a Tour: geology | biology | history or Explore: fly | sail | hike | scuba Navassa Location Map		"Galapagos of the Caribbean" The Expedition Navassa is an uninhabited, 5 km² island in the Caribbean Sea between Haiti and Jamaica administered by the U.S. Department of Interior. The USGS participated in two science expeditions to Navassa organized by the Center for Marine Conservation. The first team of 8 scientists spent July 24 to August 5, 1998 on Navassa. The second expedition occurred between April 29 and May 12, 1999 and was supported by a vessel, film crew and explorers from the Quest, an Australian adventure group and film production enterprise. The team conducted an inventory of natural resources of the island for the Department of Interior, Office of Insular Affairs. Preliminary results of the inventories have increased the number of terrestrial species known to the island from 150 to more than 650. On the last day of the first trip, the group found a single living specimen of the palm tree Pseudopheonix sargentti saonae var. navassana. Further exploration during the second trip proved the specimen to be the last living example of this endemic palm, which had been common on the island as late as 1928. National Wildlife Refuge Status The information collected during these expeditions was instrumental in the decision in 1999 to make Navassa a National Wildlife Refuge, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge was established to preserve and protect the coral reef ecosystems and the marine environment, to restore and enhance native wildlife and plants, and to provide opportunities for wildlife research. This refuge is closed to the public. Explore Navassa take a Tour: geology | biology | history or Explore: fly | sail | hike | scuba Navassa from the air: Aerial view of Navassa, looking from west to east. North is to the left. The Research Vessel Quest is visible at lower right.
Coastal and Marine Geology Program > St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center > Navassa Island U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/navassa/index.html Page Contact Information: Feedback Page Content Last Modified: August 2000