Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands

Charlotte Amalie (/ˈʃɑːrlət əˈmɑːli(ə)/ SHAR-lət ə-MAH-lee(-ə)), located on St. Thomas, is the capital and the 2nd largest city of the United States Virgin Islands. It was founded in 1666 as Taphus (meaning 'tap house' or 'beer hall' in Danish). In 1691, the town was renamed to Charlotte Amalie after the Danish queen Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (1650–1714). It has a deep-water harbor that was once a haven for pirates and is now one of the busiest ports of call for cruise ships in the Caribbean, with about 1.5 million-plus cruise ship passengers landing there annually. Protected by Hassel Island, the harbor has docking and fueling facilities, machine shops, and shipyards and was a U.S. submarine base until 1966. The Town has been inhabited for centuries. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493, the area was inhabited by Caribs, Arawaks, Ciboney and Taíno native peoples. It is on the southern shore at the head of Saint Thomas Harbor. In 2010 the City had a population of 18,481, which makes it the largest city in the Virgin Islands Archipelago. Hundreds of ferries and yachts pass by the Town each week.