Malpelo Island
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| Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| State Party |  Colombia |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, ix |
| Reference | 1216 |
| Region† | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2006 (30th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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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 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 m. 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. 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.
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