Ruth Island (also known as Ruth Cay) is an artificial island off the southern coast of

Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

near

Port Alucroix A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. It was created in the mid-1960s from the dredging of ''Krauses Lagune'' and is about 40 acres (16 ha). Because the island is free of small Indian mongooses ('' Urva auropunctata'') biologists introduced the endangered

Saint Croix ground lizard The Saint Croix ground lizard (''Pholidoscelis polops'') is a small lizard endemic to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Description Growing to a size of between 35 and 90 mm (excluding the tail), adults have a pattern of light brown, dark brown an ...

(''Pholidoscelis polops'') from the

Protestant Cay Protestant Cay is a four-acre triangular islet in the Christiansted Harbor, 200 yards north of Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands, Christiansted. The island is home to a resort, the Hotel on the Cay, which is home to a protected sand beach, small ...

population. Today there are about 30 ground lizards on Ruth Island.

References

Artificial islands of the United States Islands of the United States Virgin Islands Uninhabited islands of the United States Virgin Islands 1960s establishments in the United States Virgin Islands {{USVirginIslands-geo-stub