Columbretes Islands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Columbretes Islands are a group of small uninhabited islets of volcanic origin, in the Mediterranean Sea, 30 nautical miles (60 km) off Oropesa del Mar in the Valencian Community (Spain).
The main islets are Illa Grossa (or Columbrete Grande), La Ferrera, La Foradada and El Carallot. The total emerged area of all four is around 0.19 km² and the highest peak 67 m high.
Since 1988 the archipelago has been declared a Natural Park, appreciated by some sea birds as an optimal place for their reproductive activities. The local colony of Audouin's Gulls (which is a species listed as Near Threatened globally) is one of the most important in the world and key to the species ongoing recovery in the Spanish Mediterranean. The islets are also home for one of the major stable populations of Eleanora's Falcon in Spain.
Due to its isolation, the islands are inhabited by an endemic species of small lizard. Besides, the islets are very important during spring and autumn bird migrations, since many different species who follow the Spanish Mediterranean coast in the course of their migration use them as a brief stop in order to rest.
The submerged area is as much relevant in terms of conservation and it covers 400 km² where an important community of submarine wildlife thrives undisturbed. It became protected as a Marine reserve in 1990.
The largest island, Illa Grossa, stands in the place of an ancient crater and so it shows a distinctive semi-circular pattern. There are no constructions in it, except for a jetty, a 19th century lighthouse, and the installations used by the biologists working in the natural park.
These islands were known by Greeks and Romans from ancient times. Writers such as Strabo or Pliny the Elder cited the astonishing amount of snakes inhabiting them. The names Ophiusa and Colubraria by which they were named (both meaning serpent in Greek and Latin, respectively) refer to that fact. It is from its Latin name "Colubraria" that the islands have their present denomination.
Upon the construction of the lighthouse during mid-19th century in the Illa Grossa a tiny population was established in the main island for its maintenance and in order to deter smugglers which used the islets as a refuge. Farm animals such as pigs were introduced back then. This, combined with aggressive practices such as the burning of the original bushy vegetation of the lighthouse island (partly for agricultural uses and also to deliberately deprive the numerous vipers of their natural habitat), caused the snakes to become extinct by the turning of the century. The only testimony of that past abundance that remains today is a stuffed viper from the Columbretes in Madrid's Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales.
Nowadays, after being given the Natural Park status, pigs were eradicated. Also, the lighthouse is now automatic, which reduces the human presence only to the one of biologists assigned to the park's management.
[edit] External links
- Official site of the Natural Park (in English).
- Official site of the Spanish Marine Reserves, including the Columbretes (in Spanish)
la localización de este punto es incorrecta
