Lovango Cay is a private island in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of St. John, in the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

. Lying northwest of the island of St. John, Lovango (also known at various times as ''Loango'' and ''Awango'') covers an area of and rises to at its highest point. The island has been sparsely inhabited since at least 1728. The peak recorded population was 49 people in 1917, at which point there was briefly a school. The island hosts an eco-responsible housing development called Loving Cay Estates. The island is self-sufficient and hosts its own solar array,

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

, and reverse-osmosis

desalination Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in Soil salinity control, soil desalination, which is an issue f ...

facility. New island developments include a pool and beach club. Accessible only by boat, the north side of the

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

features a small bay. With Congo Cay to the north, the water here tends to stay calm and offers very good

snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a ...

. Among other things,

nurse sharks The Ginglymostomatidae are a cosmopolitan family of carpet sharks known as nurse sharks, containing four species in three genera. Common in shallow, tropical and subtropical waters, these sharks are sluggish and docile bottom-dwellers.

are often found resting here during the day. The south side of the island is a popular snorkeling spot for charter boats from St. John and St. Thomas.

References

Islands of the United States Virgin Islands Private islands of the United States Virgin Islands {{USVI-geo-stub