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This uninhabited island was claimed by the US in 1857 for its guano. Mining took place between 1865 and 1898. The lighthouse, built in 1917, was shut down in 1996 and administration of Navassa Island transferred from the Coast Guard to the Department of the Interior. A 1998 scientific expedition to the island described it as a unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity; the following year it became a National Wildlife Refuge.
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Surface Area: 5.2 square km
Population: uninhabited - transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the island (July 2004 est.)
Located in: Central America (Caribbean)
Independent since: unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior; in September 1996, the Coast Guard ceased operations and maintenance of Navassa Island Light, a 46-meter-tall lighthouse on the southern side of the island; there has also been a private claim advanced against the island
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