World · permanent entity record · XV
Navassa Island
Thirty-second orientation
Navassa Island at a glance
- Area
- total : 5 sq km land: 5.4 sq km water: 0 sq km
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of 2026-01-14
Claims are attributed · classifications are dated
Claims and contested status
Maintained classification
Dependency or area of special sovereignty
United States
U.S. Department of State, Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty · as of 2026-03-31A claim’s appearance records that the cited source reports it. It does not constitute an Almanac ruling on sovereignty.
Maintained profile
- Classification
- Dependency or area of special sovereignty
- U.S. Department of State, Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty · Federal classification and wording follow the current State Department register.
- Sovereignty or administration
- United States
- U.S. Department of State, Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty ·
- Administrative center
- Administered from Washington, D.C.
- U.S. Department of State, Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty ·
Preserved public-domain record · not maintained current data
Final CIA World Factbook profile
This is the preserved historical baseline from the Factbook’s final public snapshot. It is presented as the CIA stated it, not as a current Standard American Almanac finding. Current, independently maintained facts appear above when available.
CIA World Factbook historical record · final public snapshot · profile updated · pinned source record · commit d81154954b8b
Introduction1 fields
- Background
- The US claimed uninhabited Navassa Island 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 was transferred from the US Coast Guard to the Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs. 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, and annual scientific expeditions have continued.
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
Geography15 fields
- Location
- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, 30 nm west of Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Map references
- Central America and the Caribbean
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Area
- total : 5 sq km land: 5.4 sq km water: 0 sq km
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Area - comparative
- about nine times the size of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Maritime claims
- territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Terrain
- raised flat to undulating coral and limestone plateau; ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 m high)
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Elevation
- highest point: 200 m NNW of lighthouse 85 m lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Natural resources
- guano (mining discontinued in 1898)
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Geography - note
- strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock with numerous solution holes (limestone sinkholes) but with enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig trees, scattered cactus
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
People and Society1 fields
Environment3 fields
Government5 fields
- Country name
- conventional long form: none conventional short form: Navassa Island etymology: the flat island was named "Navaza" by sailors with the Christopher COLUMBUS expedition in 1504; the name derives from the Spanish word nava, meaning "flat land or level ground"
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Dependency status
- unorganized, unincorporated territory of the US; administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, from the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Boqueron, Puerto Rico; Haiti has claimed the island since the 19th century
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Diplomatic representation from the US
- embassy: none (territory of the US)
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
Military and Security1 fields
- Military - note
- defense is the responsibility of the US
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
The underlying United States government material is public domain. The Almanac’s reuse terms do not change the legal status of this preserved source layer.