TORTOLA
Tortola (from turtledoves
in Spanish) is the largest
(62 sq. km.) and most
important island with
the largest population
(over 16,000). It has the
only International Airport
and Cruise Ship Dock,
and several major beaches
for tourists including
Smugglers' Cove (pictured), Cane Garden Bay and Brewers Bay.
VIRGIN GORDA
Virgin Gorda ('fat virgin' in 
Spanish) is the third largest
island in the BVI (22 sq. km.)
with the second largest
population (around 3500).
Its largest settlement known
as The Valley or Spanish 
Town, and was the first
capital of the territory.
There are several important
tourist sites, including
The Baths (now a National
Park), a volcanic formation 
that has weathered into huge
boulders (pictured), and a
Copper Mine (also a National
Park) that once employed
Cornish miners and is
unique to the Caribbean (pictured).
There are a
number of resorts, the best
known of which are Little
Dix, Biras Creek and
Leverick Bay. Little Dix
(pictured), was
built by Laurence 
Rockefeller in 1964, and
is credited with being the
springboard for modern
tourism in the BVI.
JOST VAN DYKE
Jost Van Dyke is the fourth
largest island (9 sq. km.)
with the fourth largest
population of about 200.
Named after a Dutch
planter/pirate it now
caters mostly to the
yachting and diving
fraternities. Foxy's in
Great Harbour (pictured)
and White Bay (pictured) 
are tourist magnets. The Island is one of the top ten New
Year's Eve destinations.
ANEGADA 
Anegada, 29 km. northeast
of Tortola, is the second
largest island (34 sq. km.) 
but only has a population
of about 180. It has great
beaches (such as Cow Wreck - pictured) and is well known for 
diving (pictured) and fishing. It is a low lying coral atoll (the name
derives from 'drowned' in
Spanish), its highest elevation
being about nine metres above sea level. It is very popular
for water vacations (pictured).