Beata Island

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name = Beata


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Location map|Dominican Republic|lat=17.5783|long=-71.5117
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coordinates = coord|17|34|42|N|71|30|42|W
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area = convert|27|km2|sqmi
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country = Dominican Republic
country admin divisions title = Province
country admin divisions = Pedernales Province
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Beata Island (Spanish: "Isla Beata") is a small island on the Caribbean Sea, located 7 km southwest from cape Beata, the southernmost point of the island Hispaniola. Some 12 km SW of it lies the smaller Alto Velo island. It is part of the Dominican Republic and is roughly triangle-shaped and fairly flat, with an approximate area of 27 km².

The island, discovered by Europeans in 1494 during Columbus' second voyage, was apparently frequently inhabited by Taíno natives, a testament of which are several very large piles of conch ("Strombus gigas"), on which they regularly fed on. Archaeologists have found remains of a Taíno settlement that may have been inhabited by as many as 800 persons.

During the colonia era, Spaniards kept cattle on the island (which roamed ferally up into the late 1800's) to supply their ships en route to the mainland of the continent. Its strategic position and provisons made Beata the scene of several skirmishes in which Spanish vessels were attacked by pirates and corsairs based and sailing from Tortue Island.

In the 1870's a government concession allowed some private entrepreneurs to mine salt pans on the Northern coast, from which salt was extracted up to the 1960's.

The landscape is somewhat varied, with mangrove swamps on parts of the North shore, sandy coves and beaches on the West coast. Most of the interior of the island is covered by various subtypes of xeric semi-deciduous limestone forests. Geologically, the island is basically made out of limestone, the erosion of which causes very jagged surfaces on exposed rocks (called "diente de perro" or dogtooth), and several sinkholes and cenotes.

Fauna of the island includes several notable species of land birds, like "Microligea palustris" and "Columba leucocephala", and reptiles like the Rhinoceros iguana and "Alsophis anomalus". Numerous species of shorebirds, both migratory and resident, frequent the island.

Beata Island is currently unhabitated, save for short stays by fishermen from the mainland.

References

* [http://www.nautiliusproject.com/about_dom_rep.html nautilusproject.com]
* [http://www.fortunecity.es/felices/margarita/3/geografia/islas/beata.html "La República Dominicana" by José E. Marcano]