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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of St. John, in the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

. 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 wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

, and reverse-osmosis

desalination Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is Soil salinity control, soil desalination. This is important for agric ...

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 Grea ...

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

snorkeling Snorkeling (American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of human swimming, swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing ...

. Among other things, nurse sharks 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. The ashes of

J. Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World ...

are sunk between here, Carval Rock, and Congo Cay.

References

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