Dog Islands are a small group of

islets An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

among 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 = Bri ...

in the Caribbean. The islands originally received their names from sailors who heard barking when they moored there, and assumed that they must be dogs. However, the barking noises were made by Caribbean monk seals. The sailors also regarded the Caribbean monk seal as a good source of fresh

seal meat Seal meat is the flesh, including the blubber and organs, of seals used as food for humans or other animals. It is prepared in numerous ways, often being hung and dried before consumption. Historically, it has been eaten in many parts of the world, ...

, and as a result, they are now extinct.

Geography

The Dog Islands are situated about north east off the main island of

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

and about off the north west of

Virgin Gorda Virgin Gorda () is the third-largest island (after Tortola and Anegada) and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Geography Located at about 18 degrees, 48 minutes North, and 64 degrees, 30 minutes West, it covers an area ...

in the strait Sir Francis Drake Channel. The coordinates of the main islet are 18°28′96″N and 64°27′70″W. The uninhabited islets are of

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

origin and have a total area of about The group consist of 5 islets: * Great Dog Island, main islet, about *

George Dog Island George Dog is an uninhabited island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It is located in a smaller sub-group of islands referred to as "The Dogs" (which include Little Seal Dog Island and West Dog Island) to the northwest of Virg ...

, about * West Dog Island, about :and the subgroup Seal Dogs about north east off Great Dog Island with *

East Seal Dog Island East Seal Dog is an uninhabited islet of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It is located in a smaller sub-group of islands referred to as the Dog Islands, or more commonly, "The Dogs". Other islets in The Dogs include Little Sea ...

, about and * Little Seal Dog Island (mostly called West Seal Dog), about Situated west off George Dog and within the same sub-group lies the small islet Cockroach Island.

History

The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

in 1493 on his second voyage to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

. Columbus gave the area the fanciful name (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins), shortened to (The Virgins), after the legend of

Saint Ursula Saint Ursula (Latin for 'little female bear', german: link=no, Heilige Ursula) is a legendary Romano-British Christian saint who died on 21 October 383. Her feast day in the pre-1970 General Roman Calendar is 21 October. There is little in ...

. Today the waters around the islets are a popular site for

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

3
. West Seal Dog nowadays is a BVI National Park.

References

External links

about "The Dogs"map of "The Dogs"
{{coord, 18.488, N, 64.461, W, display=title, source:dewiki

Geography

History

See also

References

External links