Topographical Summary of ST. CROIX The island of St. Croix and its topography is very unique but there are other islands that are similar. Such as Barbados and some areas of Antigua. Many of the plants in this area are endemic and many more share the stage of a wide sub-tropical classification. The island has slightly steep topography and plains with its share of mangrove swamps, lagoons and prodigious reefs for diving. Even within islands or singular zones flora variants exist, effected by soil, aspect and coastal exposure, basins and human impact. This indicates that our entire environment is alive and reactive to our existence and the other natural elements. The rest of the Virgin Islands including the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico share the same geological bank but St. Croix is on its own out here separated from St. Thomas by 40 miles and 15,370 foot depth water. One of the deepest areas of the Caribbean with exception for the Puerto Rico Trench not to far away at about 200 miles and 31,233 feet. St. Croix is 28 miles long and 7 miles wide at the widest width, has a highest elevation of 1,165 feet which is 391feet less than St. Thomas despite being three times the size. This is of course natural for a tectonic plate to have a lower elevation. St. Croix actually has an amazing center that was pushed up by volcanic pressures and earthquakes. Wet Lands: 2.22% Mangroves, Mixed swamp, Salt flat, Salt ponds and Fresh ponds. It also has Great Pond. Dry Forest: 9.22% Moist Forest: 1.28% (due to its low profile less moist forests exists in St. Croix and only occur in the northwest location where receives less sun, more rain and less breezes. Forests and Woodlands blend in and share some similar flora. Semi -deciduous Woodlands: More of these exists in St. Croix because of the vast clearing of land for the plantation system during The African Slave Triangle (There were over 140 sugar mills in St. Croix at the height of its production). Semi-deciduous Forests: The most abundant in the Virgin Islands Semi-Evergreen: Transitional between the moist and dry forests.Mount Eagle north-facing slopes Shrubland Cover: 34.87% (St. Croix has the most) Coastal hedge, Sclerophyllous evergreen shrubland, Thicket-scrub, Mixed dry shrubland, Gallery Shrubland Herbaceous Community Cover: 18.23% - Coastal grassland, Pasture, Pasture mixed scrub, and Mixed dryland scrub Sparse Vegetation Community: 0.29%
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 14:04:51 +0000
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