St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

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Saint Croix is a district of the U.S. Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean Sea. First inhabited by indigenous groups, the island was visited by Columbus in 1493. By the end of the 16th century, the island was uninhabited, the native population dispersed or killed. Starting in the 17th century, the island was successively claimed by the Spanish, the French, the French West India Company, and, for the next 200 years, the Danish West India Company. In 1801 the British invaded and took control; followed by Denmark-Norway a year later. Then again the British, and again Denmark in 1815. One hundred years later, in 1915, Denmark sold the Virgin Islands to the United States, and the inhabitants were granted US citizenship. Saint Croix was home to HOVENSA, one of the world’s largest oil refineries. In 2012, the refinery closed, and tourism is now the main source of revenue (Wikipedia). The image covers an area of 18.7 by 36.2 km, was acquired March 10, 2011, and is located at 17.7 degrees north, 64.7 degrees west.

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St. Croix, US Virgin Islands Type: (JPG) Size: (453,561 bytes) Resolution ( 2,408 x 1,247 )