Malpelo Island

Malpelo is an oceanic island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 500 km (310 mi) west of the Colombian mainland with a military post defended by the Colombian Armed Forces. It consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks, the highest being the 300 m (980 ft) Cerro de la Mona. The island is about 1.5 kilometres (1 mile) in length from northeast to southwest, and 640 metres (700 yards) across at its widest. Geography Malpelo is the only island that rises above the surface from the Malpelo Ridge, which is a solitary volcanic submarine ridge that extends in a northeast-southwest direction for 300 km (190 mi) and has a width of 100 km (62 mi). This island is surrounded by a number of offshore rocks. Off the northeast corner are the Tres Mosqueteros. Off the southwest corner are Salomón, Saúl, La Gringa, and Escuba. All the rocks are surrounded by deep water, and most of the face of the main island is very steep. Soundings between 1,800 and 9,100 metres (1,000 and 5,000 fathoms) are obtainable within a few kilometres of the shore and the currents are strong and changeable. As an oceanic island, it has never been connected with any other islands or the mainland. Malpelo Island is composed of Miocene pillow lavas, volcanic breccias, and basaltic dikes that have been dated as being 16 to 17 million years old. This island and the underlying and underwater Malpelo Ridge were created along with the Carnegie Ridge in the Late Miocene by a very complex interaction between the Cocos-Nazca Spreading Centre and the Galápagos hotspot. History Prehistory Malpelo Island was presumably isolated from human contact prior to European discovery. It is uninhabited, and is located in the same area as other oceanic eastern Pacific islands, such as Cocos Island, Galápagos and the Revillagigedo Islands, which were all uninhabited at the time of European discovery, and possibly throughout their entire history prior to that. Discovery The exact date of Malpelo's discovery is unclear, although it may have been the first of the remote eastern Pacific islands to have been discovered by Europeans, as it appears on Peruvian maps from as early as 1530. Malpelo became a possession of Spain following its discovery, and was subsequently annexed by Peru, and later Colombia. Modern history Because of its remoteness, Malpelo counts as an DXCC "entity" for amateur radio purposes. Several DXpeditions to the island have been made with the permission of the Colombian government. In September 2024, three Ecuadorian nationals were apprehended for illegal fishing activities within the Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, a protected marine area. The individuals were intercepted by the Colombian National Navy while transporting approximately 40 illegally caught fish, including Sailfish, Marlin, Dorado, Albacore, Tollo Sharks, and Hammerhead Sharks. Following their arrest, the suspects were charged with offenses including environmental damage, ecocide, and violation of national fishing regulations. During preliminary hearings, they entered no-contest pleas. A judge subsequently ordered their detention pending further legal proceedings. Natural history 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 to establish themselves, all of which glean nutrients from the guano. Lizards are the only non-avian vertebrates on the island, with three species in total. Agassiz's anole (Anolis agassizi) Dotted galliwasp (Diploglossus millepunctatus) Colombian leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus transversalis) It is also home to a unique species of land crab, Johngarthia malpilensis, first described in 1893. The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding population of some 60,000–110,000 Nazca boobies, as estimated in 2007. 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 shark-diving location. It is one of the few places where the smalltooth sand tiger has been seen alive; it is frequently spotted at the dive site "El bajo del Monstruo". Acanthemblemaria stephensi, the Malpelo barnacle blenny, is a species of chaenopsid blenny found in coral reefs around Malpelo. The largest no-fishing zone in the East Pacific, measuring over 850,000 hectares, surrounds the island. The Malpelo Nature Reserve, a plant and wildlife sanctuary, covering 857,500 ha (3,311 mi2) centered at 04°0′12.038″N 81°36′27.259″W. A Colombian foundation is trying to preserve the biodiversity of the site. On July 12, 2006, Malpelo was declared by UNESCO as a natural World Heritage Site because of its status as an important shark reserve. Chronology 1530 – Malpelo is said to have been recorded in a map of this date. 1542 – Cristóbal Vaca de Castro visited. 1550 – Malpelo was recorded in Pierre Desceliers' map. 1704 – Wreck of the English vessel Cinque Ports 1790 – Spanish landing on Malpelo was mentioned to Alessandro Malaspina. 1793 – James Colnett visited. 1837 – A note in The Nautical Magazine recorded a visit. 1995 – Malpelo was designated as a flora and fauna sanctuary. Gallery See also ● Malpelo plate ● Gorgona Island (Colombia) References This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Malpelo, Cocos, and Easter Islands. Peace handbooks. London : H.M. Stationery Office, 1920. Further reading Verga, Giovanni (1936). Malpelo (in Spanish). México: Departamento de Biblioteca de la Secretaría de Educación Pública. Prahl, Henry von (1990). Malpelo la roca viviente (in Spanish) (1. ed.). Bogotá, Colombia: Fondo para la Protección del Medio Ambiente. Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia. Fundación Malpelo y Otros Ecosistemas Marinos. Plan de Manejo del Santuario de Flora y Fauna de Malpelo (PDF) (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia: Fondo para la Protección del Medio Ambiente. Retrieved 2014-01-05. External links Fundación Malpelo UNESCO World Heritage profile (in German) Report on diving at Malpelo, with photos of sharks (in Spanish) Isla de Malpelo