Flanagan Island (sometimes referred to in older charts as Witch Island) is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

located within the Virgin Islands archipelago in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

and forms part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is located just off of the eastern end of St. John island. For many years the island fell between the claimed

maritime boundaries A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Bound ...

of the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

and U.S. Virgin Islands. However, the United Kingdom

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

formally relinquished its claim to Flanagan Island in 1977 in an agreement with a US delegation headed by David Colson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans, US Department of State. Flanagan Island is uninhabited and is regarded as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

. However, it is not part of

Virgin Islands National Park The Virgin Islands National Park is an American national park preserving about 60% of the land area of Saint John in the United States Virgin Islands, as well as more than of adjacent ocean, and nearly all of Hassel Island, just off the Char ...

which accounts for approximately 75% of St. John and adjacent islands.Virgin Islands National Park
/ref>

References

Uninhabited islands of the United States Virgin Islands International territorial disputes of the United States Territorial disputes of the United Kingdom Former disputed islands {{USVirginIslands-geo-stub