  Little Goat Island  Little Goat Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Caribbean Sea |
| Coordinates | 17°53′10″N77°04′12″W / 17.886°N 77.070°W /17.886; -77.070 |
| Length | 2.0 km (1.24 mi)[1] |
| Width | 0.9 km (0.56 mi)[1] |
| Highest elevation | 18 m (59 ft)[1] |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Saint Catherine Parish |
Little Goat Island along withGreat Goat Island are the cays that make up the Goat Islands, located less than a mile off the coast ofJamaica, southwest of theHellshire Hills. It is part ofSaint Catherine Parish. Little Goat Island is adjacent to the northwest portion ofGreat Goat Island, and both are within thePortland Bight Protected Area.[2]
On 2 September 1940, the United States obtained a 99-year lease on Little Goat Island under theDestroyers for Bases Agreement with the United Kingdom. This agreement was ratified on 27 March 1941 after which the United States built a seaplane base on the island.[3]
A total of 2,800,000 cubic yards of dredging was necessary to remove shoals from the seaplane runway and to deepen the anchorages and channel approaches to the piers. Gasoline storage, totaling 75,000 gallons, was provided in eleven underground steel tanks.[4]
Shortly after the war the base was abandoned by the United States, which nonetheless retained a lease on the island.[3]
At independence in 1962, Jamaica replaced Britain as party to the agreement. TheUnited States Department of State website states:
By an exchange of notes on August 7, 1962, between the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in Jamaica and the Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs and Defence of Jamaica, the Government of Jamaica agreed to assume, from August 6, 1962, all obligations and responsibilities of the United Kingdom which arise from any valid instrument (including any instrument made by the Government of the Federation of The West Indies by virtue of the authority entrusted by the Government of the United Kingdom). The rights and benefits heretofore enjoyed by the Government of the United Kingdom by virtue of application of any such international instrument to Jamaica are from August 6, 1962, enjoyed by the Government of Jamaica.[5]
Until the 1940s, these cays were home to a population ofJamaican Iguana. However, as with most mainland populations, the Little Goat Island population was thought to have become extinct, mainly due to predation by introducedsmall Indian mongooses and habitat alteration by feral goats.[2]
