Located at 18 deg 25' N, 75 deg 02' W, 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the island has a land area of 52 sq km consisting is mostly exposed coral and limestone rock It is flat to undulating with a unnamed raised plateau on the southwest side At 77m high this is the highest point It is ringed by vertical white cliffs that are typically 9 to 15m high and has a 8 km coastline The island has marine, tropical climate and has enough grassland to support goat herds as well as dense stands of fig-like trees and scattered cactus
This uninhabited island was claimed by the US in 1857 for its guano, and mining took place between 1865 and 1898 A 46-meter-tall lighthouse was built in 1917, on the southern side of the island The Coast Guard ceased operations and maintenance of Navassa Island Light in September 1996 After the lighthouse was shut down administration of Navassa Island transferred from the Coast Guard to the Department of the Interior 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
The island is considered an unincorporated territory of the US that is administered from Washington, DC, by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior There has also been a private claim advanced against the island
The official language is Nauruan, a distinct Pacific Island language English is widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
There is no economic activity on Navassa Island
Food is imported from Australia and arrives by ship, usually once every six to eight weeks There are lots of small "eating places", selling Chinese food There is also a fast food kiosk at Capelle's supermarket
The Menen Hotel's Reef Bar is the only public bar in Nauru It serves Australian beers and international spirits
Although the island is uninhabited, transient Haitian fishermen and others have been known to camp on the island
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