Malpelo Island

Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Country	Colombia
Type	Natural
Criteria	vii, ix
Reference	1216
Region **	Latin America and the Caribbean
Coordinates	3°59′N 81°36′W / 3.983°N 81.6°W / 3.983; -81.6
Inscription history
Inscription	2006 (30th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

Malpelo Island (Spanish: Isla de Malpelo) is an island located 235 miles (378 km) from Colombia's Pacific coast, and approximately 225 miles (362 km) from Panama's coast. It has a land area of 0.35 square kilometres (86 acres). It is uninhabited except for a small military post manned by the Colombian Army, which was established in 1986. Visitors need a written permit from the Colombian Ministry of Ecology. The island is part of Cauca Department.

The island consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks, the highest being Cerro de la Mona with a height of 300 metres (980 ft). The island is surrounded by a number of offshore rocks. Off the northeast corner are the Tres Mosqueteros. Off the southwest corner are Salomon, Saul, La Gringa, and Escuba. Malpelo Nature Reserve, a plant and wildlife sanctuary, is defined as a circular area of radius 9.656 kilometres (6.000 mi) centered at 03°58′30″N 81°34′48″W / 3.975°N 81.58°W / 3.975; -81.58.

Malpelo is home of a unique shark population; swarms of 500 hammerhead sharks and hundreds of silky sharks are frequently seen by diving expeditions, making it a very popular sharkdiving location. Malpelo is one of the few places where the Smalltooth sand tiger has been seen alive, in the dive site "El bajo del Monstruo" it is frequently seen.

Malpelo has been interpreted as a portion of oceanic crust, probably a local manifestation of a "hot spot". It is composed mainly of pillow lavas, volcanic breccias, and Tertiary basaltic dikes.^[1] At first glance, the island seems to be barren rock, devoid of all vegetation. But deposits of bird guano have helped colonies of algae, lichens, mosses and some shrubs and ferns establish, all of which glean nutrients from the guano.

On July 12, 2006, Malpelo was declared by UNESCO as a natural World Heritage Site. A Colombian foundation^[2] is trying to preserve the biodiversity of the site.

Malpelo counts as a separate "entity" for amateur radio credit. Because of the rugged terrain, strong currents, and remote location the island is rarely activated.^[3] A DX-pedition is planned for January, 2012.^[4]

References

1. ^ http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/coasts-colombia/pacific/malpelo.html
2. ^ http://www.fundacionmalpelo.org
3. ^ DXpedition to Malpelo Island 1969
4. ^ Malpelo DXpedition 2012

External links

• Fundación Malpelo
• UNESCO World Heritage profile

This article related to a protected area in South America is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: World Heritage Sites in Colombia Uninhabited islands of Colombia Pacific islands of Colombia Colombia geography stubs South American protected area stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую Shigenori Tōgō Top Alcohol Look at other dictionaries: Malpelo — can refer to: Malpelo Island off Colombia s Pacific coast Punta Malpelo, a point near Guayaquil, Ecuador This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal …   Wikipedia Isla de Malpelo — Perfil de Malpelo desde el mar. Localización País …   Wikipedia Español Cocos Island — For other uses, see Cocos Island (disambiguation). Cocos Island National Park * UNESCO World Heritage Site Cocos Island …   Wikipedia Мальпело — Malpelo …   Википедия Мальпело (остров) — Мальпело Местонахождение Тихий океан Координаты 3.983333, 81.6 …   Википедия Acanthemblemaria stephensi — Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class …   Wikipedia List of national parks of Colombia — Natural parks of Colombia The protected areas of Colombia are grouped in the National System of Protected Areas. As of 2008, it has 58 natural national parks which cover about 12,579,081 ha and represent more than 10% of the country s continental …   Wikipedia Список объектов Всемирного наследия ЮНЕСКО в Колумбии — В списке объектов Всемирного наследия ЮНЕСКО в Колумбии значатся 7 наименований (на 2011 год), это составляет 0,7 % от общего числа (962 на 2012 год). 5 объекта включены в список по культурным критериям, 2 объекта  по природным. Кроме… …   Википедия Tourism in Colombia — The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (Spanish: Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo ) is the Colombian ministry in charge of tourism affairs. During the most famous festivals such as the Cali s Fair, the Barranquilla s Carnival,… …   Wikipedia List of ecoregions (WWF) — This is a list of ecoregions as compiled by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The WWF identifies terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecoregions.The terrestrial scheme divides the Earth s land surface into 8 terrestrial ecozones, containing 867… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”