Malpelo Island
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Malpelo Island (Spanish: Isla de Malpelo) is an island located 314 miles off Colombia's Pacific coast at , 300 km offshore. It has a land area of 0.35 km². It is uninhabited except for a small garrison of the Colombian Army, which was established in 1986. Visitors need a written permit of the Colombian Ministry of Ecology.
The island consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks. 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 6 miles (9.656 km) centered at .
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.
At a first glance the island is a barren rock, devoid of all vegetation, but upon closer inspection erosion, meteorization and bird guano have contributed to the establishment of colonies of algae, lichens, mosses, some gramineous, shrub leguminous and ferns, all of them taking the nutrients from the bird guano.
On July 12, 2006 Malpelo was declared by the UNESCO as natural World Heritage Site.
[edit] External links
Los Katíos | Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary | National Archeological Park of Tierradentro | Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena | San Agustín Archeological Park | Santa Cruz de Mompox
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