Sombrero, Anguilla

Sombrero

Location of Sombrero within Anguilla
Sombrero Show map of Lesser Antilles Sombrero Show map of Caribbean
Geography
Location	Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates	18°35′21″N 63°25′31″W / 18.58917°N 63.42528°W / 18.58917; -63.42528
Archipelago	Antilles
Administration
United Kingdom
British Overseas Territory	Anguilla
Additional information
Time zone	AST (UTC-4)
ISO code	AI
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Sombrero Island Nature Reserve Marine Park
Designated	22 May 2018
Reference no.	2354[1]

Sombrero, also known as Hat Island, is part of the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla and is the northernmost island of the Lesser Antilles.^[a] It lies 54 km (34 mi) north-west of Anguilla across the Dog and Prickly Pear Passage. The distance to Dog Island, the next nearest island of Anguilla, is 38 kilometres (24 miles).

Sombrero is 1.67 kilometres (1,826.33 yards) long north–south, and 0.38 km (415.57 yd) wide. The land area is 0.38 km² (93.90 acres). Originally, when viewed from the sea, the island had the shape of a sombrero hat, but guano-mining operations have left the island with precipitous sides and a relatively flat top that is 12 m (39 ft) above sea level. The surface of the island is rough, and vegetation is sparse.

The guano-mining operation yielded some 3000 tons of phosphate a year by 1870. By 1890, the phosphate reserves had been exhausted.

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