Editing Vieques, Puerto Rico (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Sub-tropical dry forest vieques.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Sub-tropical dry forest on Vieques]]
Vieques measures about {{convert|21|mi|km}} east-west, and three to {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} north-south. It has a land area of {{convert|52|sqmi|km2}} and is located about {{convert|10|mi|km|spell=in}} to the east of Puerto Rico. To the north of Vieques is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south, the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]]. The island of [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]] is about {{convert|10|mi|km}} north of Vieques, and the [[United States Virgin Islands]] lie to the east. Vieques and Culebra, together with various small islets, make up the [[Spanish Virgin Islands]], sometimes known as the Passage Islands.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}<ref name="PR_Ency">{{cite web |url=https://enciclopediapr.org/en/encyclopedia/vieques-municipality/ |title=Vieques Municipality|publisher=Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades (FPH)|website=enciclopediapr.org|access-date=July 21, 2019}}</ref>

The former US Navy lands, now wildlife reserves, occupy the entire eastern and western ends of Vieques, with the former live weapons testing site (known as the "LIA", or "Live Impact Area") at the extreme eastern tip.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McCaffrey |first=Katherine T. |chapter=Environmental Struggle After the Cold War: New Forms of Resistance to the U.S. Military in Vieques, Puerto Rico |editor-last=Lutz |editor-first=Catherine |title=Bases of Empire: The Global Struggle Against U.S. Military Posts |publisher=New York University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-81475-243-2}}</ref> These areas are unpopulated. The former civilian area occupies very roughly the central third of the island and contains the towns of [[Isabel Segunda, Puerto Rico|Isabel Segunda]] on the north coast, and [[Esperanza, Puerto Rico|Esperanza]] on the south.

Vieques has a terrain of rolling hills, with a central ridge running east–west. The highest point is [[Monte Pirata (Vieques)|Monte Pirata]] at {{convert|987|ft|m}}. Geologically the island is composed of a mixture of [[volcanic rock|volcanic]] [[bedrock]], [[sedimentary rock]]s such as [[limestone]] and [[sandstone]], and [[Alluvium|alluvial deposits]] of gravel, sand, silt, and clay. There are no permanent rivers or streams. Much former agricultural land has been reclaimed by nature due to prolonged disuse, and, apart from some small-scale farming in the central region, the island is largely covered by brush and [[Puerto Rican dry forests|subtropical dry forest]]. Around the coast lie palm-fringed sandy beaches interspersed with lagoons, [[mangrove|mangrove swamps]], [[Salt pan (geology)|salt flat]]s and [[coral reef]]s.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}

A series of nearshore islets and rocks are part of the municipality of Vieques, clockwise starting at the northernmost:
*Roca Cucaracha (a rock of less than five meters in diameter)
*Isla Yallis <!-- Block 1010, Block Group 1, Census Tract 9501-->
*Roca Alcatraz <!-- Block 1009, Block Group 1, Census Tract 9501-->
*Cayo Conejo <!-- Block 1009, Block Group 1, Census Tract 9501-->
*Cayo Jalovita <!-- Block 1006, Block Group 1, Census Tract 9501-->
*Cayo Jalova <!-- Block 1006, Block Group 1, Census Tract 9501-->
*Isla Chiva <!-- Block 1004, Block Group 1, Census Tract 9501-->
*Cayo Chiva <!-- Block 1003, Block Group 1, Census Tract 9501 (part, one of four)-->
*Cayo de Tierra
*Cayo de Afuera (Cayo Real)

===Bioluminescent Bay===
[[File:Mosquito bay, Bioluminescent bay, Vieques - panoramio (3).jpg|thumb|Bioluminescent Bay at night]]
[[File:Kayaking in the Bioluminescent Bay Vieques.webm|thumb|thumbtime=55|Kayaking in [[#Bioluminescent Bay|the Bioluminescent Bay]], Vieques, Puerto Rico]]{{Main|Puerto Mosquito}}
The Vieques [[bioluminescence|Bioluminescent]] Bay (also known as ''Puerto Mosquito'', ''Mosquito Bay'', or ''"The Bio Bay"''), was declared the "Brightest bioluminescent bay" in the world by [[Guinness World Records]] in 2006,<ref>{{cite web |title=Brightest bioluminescent bay |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/brightest-bioluminescent-bay |website=Guinness World Records |date=2006}}</ref> and is listed as a [[national natural landmark]], one of [[List of National Natural Landmarks in Puerto Rico|five in Puerto Rico]]. The luminescence in the bay is caused by a [[microorganism]], the [[dinoflagellate]] ''[[Pyrodinium bahamense]]'', which glows whenever the water is disturbed, leaving a trail of neon blue.

A combination of factors creates the necessary conditions for bioluminescence: [[Rhizophora mangle|red mangrove]] trees surround the water (the organisms have been related to mangrove forests<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Physiology and dynamics of the tropical dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense |last1=Usup |first1=Gires |last2=Azanza |first2=Rhodora V. |date=1998 |editor1-first=Donald M. |editor1-last=Anderson |editor2-first=Allan D. |editor2-last=Cembella |editor3-first=Gustaaf M. |editor3-last=Hallegraeff |title=The Physiological Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms |pages=81–94 |series=NATO ASI Series G, Ecological sciences no. 41. |location=Berlin |publisher=[[Springer-Verlag]] |isbn=978-3-54064-117-9}}</ref> although mangrove is not necessarily associated with this species<ref>{{cite journal |title=Factors affecting the distribution of Pyrodinium bahamense var. bahamense in coastal waters of Florida |last1=Phlips |first1=E. J. |last2=Badylak |first2=S. |last3=Bledsoe |first3=E. |last4=Cichra |first4=M. |date=2006 |journal=[[Marine Ecology Progress Series]] |volume=322 |pages=99–115 |doi=10.3354/meps322099|bibcode=2006MEPS..322...99P |doi-access=free }}</ref>); a complete lack of modern development around the bay; the water is warm enough and deep enough; and a small channel to the ocean keeps the [[dinoflagellate]]s in the bay. This small channel was created artificially, the result of attempts by the occupants of Spanish ships to choke off the bay from the ocean. The Spanish believed that the bioluminescence they encountered there while first exploring the area was the work of the [[devil]] and tried to block ocean water from entering the bay by dropping huge boulders in the channel.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} The Spanish only succeeded in preserving and increasing the luminescence in the now isolated bay.

[[Kayaking]] is permitted in the bay and may be arranged through local vendors.

===Climate===
Vieques has a warm, relatively dry, tropical climate. Temperatures vary little throughout the year, with average daily maxima ranging from {{convert|84.7|°F|°C|abbr=on}} in January to {{convert|89.9|°F|°C|abbr=on}} in September. Average daily minima are about 18&nbsp;°F or 6&nbsp;°C lower. Rainfall averages around {{convert|40|to|45|in|mm|abbr=off}} per year, with the month of September being the wettest. The west of the island receives significantly more rainfall than the east. Prevailing winds are easterly.

Vieques is prone to [[tropical storm]]s and at risk from [[hurricane]]s from June to November. In 1989, [[Hurricane Hugo]] caused considerable damage to the island,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/prstorm/prstorm.html |title=High-Energy Storms Shape Puerto Rico |website=U.S. Geological Survey |date=May 16, 1996 |access-date=June 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017155543/http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/prstorm/prstorm.html |archive-date=October 17, 2011}}</ref> and in 2017, [[Hurricane Maria]] also caused major damage.<ref name="NPR">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/12/22/571950669/puerto-rican-island-still-in-crisis-mode-3-months-after-maria |title=Puerto Rican Island 'Still In Crisis Mode' 3 Months After Maria |website=National Public Radio |date=December 22, 2017 |access-date=December 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229033217/https://www.npr.org/2017/12/22/571950669/puerto-rican-island-still-in-crisis-mode-3-months-after-maria |archive-date=December 29, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Vieques Island, Puerto Rico (1955–1976 normals, extremes 1955–1976)
|single line = Y
| Jan high F = 84.7
| Feb high F = 85.2
| Mar high F = 86.4
| Apr high F = 87.5
| May high F = 88.4
| Jun high F = 89.4
| Jul high F = 89.6
| Aug high F = 89.7
| Sep high F = 89.9
| Oct high F = 89.3
| Nov high F = 87.9
| Dec high F = 85.7
|year high F = 87.8
| Jan low F = 66.9
| Feb low F = 66.6
| Mar low F = 67.0
| Apr low F = 68.1
| May low F = 70.4
| Jun low F = 71.7
| Jul low F = 71.6
| Aug low F = 71.7
| Sep low F = 71.5
| Oct low F = 70.9
| Nov low F = 69.5
| Dec low F = 67.8
|year low F = 69.5
|Jan record high F = 90
|Feb record high F = 90
|Mar record high F = 92
|Apr record high F = 95
|May record high F = 93
|Jun record high F = 94
|Jul record high F = 93
|Aug record high F = 94
|Sep record high F = 95
|Oct record high F = 94
|Nov record high F = 94
|Dec record high F = 90
|year record high F= 95
|Jan record low F = 55
|Feb record low F = 52
|Mar record low F = 54
|Apr record low F = 56
|May record low F = 59
|Jun record low F = 59
|Jul record low F = 60
|Aug record low F = 63
|Sep record low F = 63
|Oct record low F = 60
|Nov record low F = 61
|Dec record low F = 57
|year record low F = 52
| Jan precipitation inch = 2.74
| Feb precipitation inch = 1.29
| Mar precipitation inch = 1.31
| Apr precipitation inch = 2.30
| May precipitation inch = 4.40
| Jun precipitation inch = 3.22
| Jul precipitation inch = 3.16
| Aug precipitation inch = 5.02
| Sep precipitation inch = 5.25
| Oct precipitation inch = 5.00
| Nov precipitation inch = 4.98
| Dec precipitation inch = 3.39
|year precipitation inch = 42.06
|precipitation colour = green
| unit rain days = 0.01 in
| Jan rain days = 
| Feb rain days = 
| Mar rain days = 
| Apr rain days = 
| May rain days = 
| Jun rain days = 
| Jul rain days = 
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| year rain days = 
|source 1 = Western Regional Climate Center<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?pr9763
| title = VIEQUES ISLAND, PUERTO RICO
| publisher = Western Regional Climate Center
| access-date = May 21, 2020
}}</ref>
}}