National Wildlife Refuge · FWS · PR · Roosevelt connection
Culebra National Wildlife Refuge
Alerts and conditions
Weather Rip Current Statement issued November 8 at 9:32PM AST until November 9 at 6:00PM AST by NWS San Juan PR
* WHAT...High Rip Current Risk, life-threatening rip currents.
* WHERE...North-facing beaches of Puerto Rico, including Culebra.
* WHEN...Through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water, where it becomes difficult to
return to safety.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Lingering northerly swells generated by
distant surface low over the central Atlantic will support
breaking waves of 5 to 8 feet and a high risk of life-
threatening rip currents along the northern exposed beaches of
Puerto Rico and Culebra.
What to do: There is a high risk of rip currents. Rip currents are powerful channels of water flowing quickly away from shore, which occur most often at low spots or breaks in the sandbar and in the vicinity of structures such as groins, jetties and piers. Heed the advice of lifeguards, beach patrol flags and signs. If you become caught in a rip current, yell for help. Remain calm, do not exhaust yourself and stay afloat while waiting for help. If you have to swim out of a rip current, swim parallel to shore and back toward the beach when possible. Do not attempt to swim directly against a rip current a
Read the full alert · Until Nov 9, 2026, 10:00 PM
History
The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.
The Roosevelt connection
Protected by T.R.
- February 27, 1909: as President, Theodore Roosevelt set aside Culebra Reservation (federal bird reservation). Islands off Puerto Rico's east coast where sooty terns, boobies and tropicbirds nest.
archive.org · standardebooks.org · en.wikisource.org · Roosevelt’s Public Lands
What to see and do
Plan your visit
Check the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for current hours, fees and access.
Whose lands these are
These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.
Pair it with
- Vieques National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 13 miles
- Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 27 miles
- El Yunque National Forest USFS · 32 miles
- Virgin Islands National Park NPS · 37 miles
- Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument NPS · 40 miles
- Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 52 miles