Montserrat

Montserrat is a lush-mountainous island in the Caribbean Sea, located in the Leeward Islands, it is also found in the chain of islands that are sometimes called the Lesser Antilles. The Caribbean island of Montserrat was given its name by Christopher Columbus in 1493, after a mountain of the same name located in Spain. Today, Montserrat is often time cited by the nickname; The Emerald Island of the Caribbean, because the islands' large slopes are covered by lush green tropical vegetation and the connection to Ireland of many of its early settlers.

Related Topics:
Island - Caribbean Sea - Leeward Islands - Lesser Antilles - Christopher Columbus - 1493 - Mountain of the same name - Spain - Emerald - Tropical - Ireland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Montserrat is currently an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes Montserrat on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Related Topics:
Overseas territory - United Kingdom - United Nations - United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Montserrat's Georgian-era capital city of Plymouth was destroyed and two-thirds of the island's population forced to flee abroad due to the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano that began on July 18, 1995. The eruption continues today on a much reduced scale, the damage being confined to the areas around Plymouth and the southeast coast near the old airport. An exclusion zone, open during the day, extends from south coast of the island north to parts of the Belham Valley and provides visitors with a spectacular view of the volcano and the destruction it wreaked upon the town.

Related Topics:
Plymouth - Soufriere Hills volcano - July 18 - 1995

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~