Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve
A Caribbean bay where Columbus landed, engraved with a young red mangrove tree.
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve is located on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It is a special place where history and nature come together — a land long inhabited by indigenous people and known as one of the early places where European explorers set foot in the Caribbean.
On the reverse of the coin is a young red mangrove tree. The mangrove is a tree that takes root and grows where seawater meets land, and the coin captures the image of a young tree that has only just begun to grow.
A mangrove forest becomes a home for fish and birds, and with its roots it holds the shore together, protecting the land from waves and storms. A single young tree symbolizes both the hope that this precious ecosystem will continue into the future and the wish to keep protecting nature.
This park was designated on February 24, 1992, and protects together the historical remains of the Caribbean and the mangrove wetland ecosystem. In this way, the “America the Beautiful” series also cherishes the nature and history held by a small island in the Caribbean.
Looking at the young mangrove tree on the coin, we come to feel anew the power of nature that, though not easily noticed, sustains the coastal ecosystem.