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Archipelago

    Salt Island

    18°22′N 64°32′W

    Salt Island is one of the islands of the archipelago of the British Virgin Islands located about 4.7 miles south east (151 degrees true) of Road Town, the main town on Tortola. It is named after its salt ponds, which were once an important resource.

    Beach View from Salt Island
    Beach View from Salt Island

    Cayeldo / CC BY-SA 3.0

    Terrain

    18°22′N 64°32′W

    Terrain exaggerated for relief. Drag to look around.

    Overview

    Salt Island is one of the islands of the archipelago of the British Virgin Islands located about 4.7 miles south east (151 degrees true) of Road Town, the main town on Tortola. It is named after its salt ponds, which were once an important resource. Salt Island is most notable for the wreck of the Royal Mail packet steamer, RMS Rhone which sank in a hurricane on 29 October 1867 after she was driven back on Salt Island while attempting to head to safety at sea. Most of the ship's crew were lost, while recovered bodies were buried in a mass grave on Salt Island. It is a short walk from the main beach and can be easily seen today, with a wide circle of stones laid upon the grave. The wreck of the Rhone is one of the best scuba diving sites in the Caribbean. Some of the underwater scenes in the film The Deep were filmed in and around the wreck. The population of the island hasn't been more than three since at least 1980. They pay an annual symbolic rent of one pound of salt to the British Crown, delivered to the Governor of the British Virgin Islands. The island is often visited by yachts and the occasional smaller cruise ship. Where before there were twenty or more households there are now only three or four derelict houses.

    From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Chart

    Nearest islands

    Also in Virgin Islands

    Also in Leeward Islands

    Also in Windward Antilles

    Also in Lesser Antilles

    Also in Antilles

    Also in Caribbean

    Sources

    Facts

    • Geometry, areas and high points: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Copernicus GLO-30, via Talus.
    • Talus
    • Wikidata
    • Wikipedia

    Photographs