Navassa Island
(territory of the US)
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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. Strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock with numerous solution holes but with enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig trees, scattered cactus. Source: The World Factbook, CIA. |
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Places
Fiji |
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 Coast Guard to
the Department of the Interior.