Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Lanee and I travelled to Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands by cruise ship on February 22, 2017 and again February 21, 2018. The U.S. Virgin Islands are in the Atlantic Ocean, about 40 miles east of Puerto Rico and immediately west of the British Virgin Islands.

The territory consists of three main islands: Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Saint Croix, as well as several dozen smaller islands. The combined land area of the islands is roughly twice the size of Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Virgin Islands are known for their white sand beaches, including Magens Bay and Trunk Bay. The islands are volcanic in origin and hilly. The highest point in Saint Thomas is Crown Mountain with an elevation of 1,555 feet. The coordinates for the island is 18o21' N   64o56' W.

Demographics

Information from the 2010 census indicated that the core population is made up of 106,405 people from 26,636 families and the islands have 40,648 households. In Saint Thomas 51,634 people reside.

Religions in the United States Virgin Islands (2010)--Protestant (65.5%); Roman Catholic (27.1%); Other Christian (1.8%); Unaffiliated (3.7%) and Other religion (1.9%)

Ethnic groups--76.0% Black; 15.7% White; 4.9% Other; 2.1% Multiracial and 1.4% Asian

Common languages--71.6% English, English creole; 17.2% Spanish; 8.6% French, French creole; and 2.5% Other

History

In 1917, St. Thomas was purchased along with Saint John and Saint Croix by the United States for $25 million in gold. The transfer occurred on March 31, 1917.  U.S. citizenship was granted to the residents in 1927. The U.S. Department of the Interior took over administrative duties in 1931. American forces were based on the island during the Second World War. In 1954, passage of the U.S. Virgin Islands Organic Act officially granted territorial status to the three islands, and allowed for the formation of a local senate with politics dominated by the American Republican and Democratic parties. Full home rule was achieved in 1970.

The post-war era also saw the rise of tourism on the island. With relatively cheap air travel and the American embargo on Cuba, the numbers of visitors greatly increased. Despite natural disasters such as Hurricane Hugo (1989), Hurricane Luis (1995), Hurricane Irma (2017).

Climate data for Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high F 93 93 94 96 97 99 98 99 98 97 95 92 99
Average high F 85.1 85.1 85.7 86.7 87.6 89.1 89.9 90.2 90.0 88.7 87.1 85.6 87.6
Average low F 72.4 72.3 72.9 74.1 76.2 77.7 78.0 78.1 78.0 76.9 75.2 73.7 75.5
Record low temp F 63 62 56 58 66 67 57 59 64 66 52 62 52
Average precipitation in inches 2.16 1.47 1.05 2.62 3.05 2.62 2.82 3.51 4.82 5.94 6.00 2.88 38.95
Average precipitation days rain above 0.01 inch received 14.3 11.8 8.1 10.7 11.9 11.1 14.8 14.2 14.6 17.7 17.8 16.7 163.6

Demographics

Saint Thomas is divided into the following subdistricts (with population as per the 2010 U.S. Census)

  1. Charlotte Amalie (pop. 18,481)
  2. Charlotte Amalie town (pop. 10,354)
  3. East End (pop. 8,403)
  4. Northside (pop. 10,049)
  5. Southside (pop. 5,411)
  6. Tutu (pop. 6,867)
  7. Water Island (pop. 182)
  8. West End (pop. 2,241)

Transportation

Passenger and limited car-ferry services to neighboring islands such as Water Island, St. John, St. Croix, and the British Virgin Islands run regularly out of the Red Hook Terminal, Charlotte Amalie, and Crown Bay Marina.

The United States Virgin Islands is the only place under United States jurisdiction where the rule of the road is to drive on the left. This was inherited from what was the then-current Danish practice at the time of the American acquisition in 1917. However, because St. Thomas is a U.S. territory, most cars are imported from the mainland United States and therefore the steering column is located on the left side of the vehicle.

The island has many regular taxis from compact size to large vans, as well as open-air, covered trucks called "safaris" with bench seats. The "safaris" usually operates in high-traffic points like the cruise-ship terminals at Havensight and Crown Bay.

New Safari Old Safari

Points of interest

Magens Bay

Scenic Pictures

Panoramic Scenic Pictures

Misc Pictures