Throughout history, people seeking paradise on Earth have traveled—or dreamed of traveling—to a tropical island where they could find beauty, refreshment, and refuge. Today, just over half of the small rugged volcanic island of St. John is protected within Virgin Islands National Park. Among the earthly delights of this faraway place are tropical forests, wildlife, wildflowers, and breathtaking views. Just offshore, dazzling natural riches are preserved within the park's marine areas.

Like most Caribbean islands, the natural world of St. John has undergone tremendous, sometimes overwhelming, changes. Forests were cleared over almost all of St. John for sugar plantations, farms, and houses in the 1700's and 1800's. Foreign trees and shrubs, brought over to provide food or medicines, invaded the native forests, and, by the early 1900's, no sizable original stands were left. Animals, too, were introduced by man. Some, such as the weasel-like mongoose, which developed a taste for the eggs of ground-nesting birds and sea turtles, have had devastating effects.

But today, with an ample part of St. John's natural resources managed by the park, the tropical forest and much of the island's native wildlife are protected. The island's remarkable variety of over 800 species of plants includes the teyer palm, which is St. John's only native palm tree; the bay rum tree, whose aromatic leaves once provided the oil for the world-famous bay rum cologne; and rare, brilliantly colored wild orchids. St. John is a sanctuary for animals as diverse as corals, sea turtles and reef fish; insect- and fish-eating bats; frogs; gecko, angle, and iguana lizards; and, of course, birds. More than 30 species of tropical birds breed on the island. They include the bananaquit, the black, parrot-like smooth-billed and and two species of Caribbean hummingbirds. Many warblers and other birds seen in the continental United States in the summer spend their winters in the dense forests.

Beaches

The white sand beaches of the Virgin Islands have a well-deserved reputation for being among the most beautiful in the world. Picture-postcard beaches fringe Hawksnest Bay, Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Saltpond Bay, and many of St. John's other sheltered coves.

Sand—the key ingredient to any beach—is brought to the island's shore by waves, tides, and currents. Where does all that sand come from? Primarily from two sources within each bay—from marine algae that grow just offshore and from living coral reefs. Both, when broken down into tiny fragments, make sand. Without the algae and the reefs, the ready supply of sand would disappear, as would the beaches, in time.

The reefs also act as the first line of defense for the beaches; they reduce the full force of incoming waves that otherwise would cause serious erosion. On stretches of St. John's rugged coast that lie exposed and unprotected by reefs, the shoreline is made up of cobbles and bare rocks.

Except for sunbathers and swimmers, the beaches can appear to be lifeless—not so! Sandpipers and other shorebirds visit the beaches and probe along the water's edge in the sand for small crabs, mollusks, and other burrowing creatures that live off morsels of food the waves bring in. Sea turtles, who spend most of their lives in tropical seas, visit beaches only occasionally. But when they do, it is for a very important purpose—to lay eggs. Beaches are essential to the survival of these rare, critically endangered species.

Nearshore Waters

Edging parts of the island, between terrestrial land marine ecosystems, lie the ecologically important mangrove communities. Red mangroves, with their distinctive prop roots, occur in shoreline areas where reefs or bays afford protection from waves. Undersea meadows of seagrass beds also prefer these calmer waters.

Mangroves and seagrass beds provide food and shelter to an astonishing variety of organisms. The submerged prop roots of the mangroves are encrusted with a colorful assortment of algae, tunicates, sponges, anemones, hydroids, barnacles, and oysters. Secure from predators, juvenile snappers, grunts, groupers, doctorfish, and sardines find shelter amidst the maze of roots. When larger, many of them venture out to spend the rest of their lives on the coral reef.

Turtle grass and manatee grass predominate in the seagrass beds. Their gently undulating blades provide food for sea turtles, fish, and sea urchins. Roaming throughout this area are such unusual animals as sea cucumbers, batfish, spotted eagle rays, goldspotted eels, and queen conch.

Coral Reefs

"Magical." "I always see something different." "Unbelievable colors and shapes." These are ways snorkelers and divers describe the fascinating underwater world of the coral reefs at Virgin Islands National Park. The kaleidoscope of changing colors, the variety of unusual shapes, the diversity of coral, fish, and other life combine to make the reef a never-to-be-forgotten experience.

Only by snorkeling can one enjoy what this marine wonderland has to offer. Be observant. Fish, lobsters, and feather duster worms disappear and reappear within mere seconds in one location.

Reefs have been compared to underwater cities. Alleys, streets, and cul-de-sacs twist between high-rise coralline structures where vacant dwellings are nonexistent. Wispy cleaner shrimps dance about to attract their more-than-willing finned hosts. Moray eels, spiny lobsters, deflated porcupinefish, and crimson squirrelfish spend their days holed up in reef crevices.

At night, the city is transformed into an eerie nether world where octopuses slither about and parrotfish seek protection resting in their veil-like mucus cocoons. Coral polyps emerge from stony skeletal homes, stretching their tentacles out to feast on plankton. The tiny coral polyp is mostly soft stomach, stinging tentacles, and mouth surrounded by a hard limestone skeleton. Working together in huge colonies, these simple animals have built all the world's coral reefs.

Throughout both day and night, lacy-looking sea fans, sea whips, sea plumes, and other soft corals undulate in the current. They create the appearance of an underwater garden, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is a garden that cannot afford even the slightest damage. The fastest growing corals add only two to three inches of growth per year, and large brain corals are hundreds of years old. Carelessly placed anchors, an errant flipper, and excessive sediments running off newly cleared slopes can devastate reef life. Coral reefs grow in tropical waters or where the sea temperature is more than 70° throughout the year. Many are unprotected and face destruction from pollution, sedimentation, anchors, and overfishing. Virgin Islands National Park preserves what is fast becoming a disappearing natural phenomenon worldwide.

Flora and Fauna

Scurrying Lizards— Lizards scurry about day and night. Males extend colorful dewlaps and do push-ups as a part of territorial and courtship displays.

A Richness In Plantlife— More than 800 species of trees, shrubs, flowers, and other plants grow in the different forests of St. John, from the moist subtropical forests of the interior mountains to the semi-arid cactus scrub lands on south-facing slopes and rocky, windswept peninsulas. Inviting park trails wind through forests that today are a mix of native and introduced. species.

Bananaquit— The ever present bananaquit is the official bird of the Virgin Islands. With its long, decurved bill, the bird feeds on the sweet nectar of tropical flowers.

Sea Turtles— Two endangered sea turtles, the hawksbill and the green, are commonly seen in St. John's waters. The hawksbill, shown here, comes ashore on remote St. John beaches to dig its nest and lay eggs. After burying the eggs in the warm sand the female returns to onshore waters. When the youngsters hatch, they instinctively turn toward the sea. Despite laws protecting them in numerous countries, they are still hunted in some areas for their shells and meat.

Migrating Thousands— A popular island riddle goes "Ah lib on fan' an' walk about. But always home in or out." Give up? It's the soldier crab, who takes up residence in abandoned shells, particularly those of the West Indian top shell whelk. Found all over the island, these crabs come down to the beach by the thousands in annual August migrations to breed and lay eggs at the water's edge.

Only at Night— Largest of island blossoms, the vanilla-scented, night-blooming cereus is pollinated by bats and moths and may be seen, true to its name, only at night.

Mangrove Nurseries— The mangrove swamps of the park's coastal areas are a productive nursery for sea life. In turn, the young fish, juvenile lobsters, and other organisms that live in the maze of underwater mangrove roots provide meals for green herons, other birds, and large fish.

Schools of Grunts— French grunts are one of many reef fish that begin their lives hiding in seagrass beds, where they feed on crabs, shrimp, and marine worms. Adult grunts hover in huge schools over reefs by day, but each night they leave the safety of the reef to once again feed among the undersea grasses.

Beach Builders— While feeding on algae that grows on coral, parrotfish ingest some of the hard coral skeletons, later excreting the undigested calcareous matter. One study estimated as much as one ton of sand per acre per year passes through the intestinal tracts of reef fish.

Snapping Shrimp— Anything but silent, the underwater world is punctuated by many sounds. Seeking protection at the base of a ringed anemone, the red snapping shrimp defends its home and stuns prey by snapping its enlarged claw to make a pistol-like sound easily heard by snorkelers.

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