St. Croix is located in the Caribbean Sea and is part of the United States Virgin Islands. This scuba diving location is directly south of St. Thomas and St. John; its two sister islands. So, the island is 22 mi long and 7 mi wide. The two main towns are Frederiksted on the west end, and Christiansted on the road to the hilly east end. Above all, the highest point is on Mt. Eagle and is 1,165ft tall. St. Croix was inhabited by the Igneri some 2,000 years ago. Arawaks from South America first arrived in 100AD, and with a sub group called the Taino in a second wave in 700AD. A third wave of south Americans called the Carib or Kalina, from which we got the word "Cannibal", came in 1425 and enslaved the Tainos.
European History
Columbus arrived in 1493 after which all islanders were either enslaved by the Spanish, massacred, or died due to the introduction of European diseases. By 1590, the island was uninhabited. The English came in and took control of St. Croix in 1641 and started building a fort. However, the Dutch couldn't stand it, so they came in and finished building Fort Flamand in 1642, the French took over in 1650 and in 1655 the Knights of Malta made a settlement here. So, the Danes from Denmark took over in 1733, but lost control of the island temporarily to the British during the Napoleonic Wars. Finally, Denmark sold St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. Johns for $25 million to the United States in 1917. Enjoy our blog article on
Giant Sharks Through Time.
Diving St. Croix
There are almost 60 scuba diving sites to choose from. The main attraction has to be
Cane Bay Wall. You can explore this extended wall from shore as well as by boat. The wall starts at 40ft and can descend to 3,200ft deep. So, another outstanding shore dive is at the
Frederiksted Pier. Under the pier are corals, sponges, seahorses, butterfly fish, and lobsters. So, for boat dives, while staying in St. Croix, there's
NorthStar, Rust Op Twist, Captain Morgan (wall dive),
Sea Mount, Davis Bay, Twin Palms, and
Pavilions. The
Wrecks at Butler Bay feature five separate wrecks. On the east end you might like
Blue Chute, Sleeping Shark Hole, and
Little Cozumel. There are almost 60 dive sites around the island and for some peculiar reason
Gentle Winds and
Love Shack seem to be more popular dive sites than
Swirling Reef of Death.
Accommodations, Attractions, Activities
There are several hotels, resorts, and inns to choose from. We should mention that St. Croix is the home to the Cruzan Rum Distillery. Since 1760 they have been making rum here. Alexander Hamilton was a youth during this time and you might like to rise up and see the see the old buildings, "the place where it happened", from his perspective on a tour. So, for activities, you can participate in the turtle watch program when female leatherbacks, green, and hawksbill turtles come ashore to lay eggs or when the eggs are about to hatch. Moreover, you can visit Fort Frederik Museum, tour downtown Christiansted and the 1734 Dutch fort. For more information about ancient times, you may wish to visit the Salt River Bay National Historical park.
Finally, besides scuba diving, we have to add horseback riding, deep sea fishing, paddle boarding kayaking, and snorkeling around Buck Island Reef.
