On the eastern side of the island, protected from the open sea, there is a small natural harbour. The island covers an area of and is covered in thick Mediterranean flora and woods: laurel, oak, pines, cypress and black pines. There are also olives, agaves, cacti, magnolia and palms. On the southern part of the island there is a small salt lake, 10 m deep, known as "the Dead Sea" (Mrtvo More). Nearby there is a deserted Benedictine monastery, founded in 1023. The triple-naved basilica, and a 14th-century part of the monastery were badly damaged in the 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake. The monastery was deserted in 1798. Today Lokrum is a Nature Reserve and a Special Forest Vegetation Reserve. At some point after 2014, the European Rabbit ("Oryctolagus cuniculus L.") was illegally introduced to Lokrum. Since then, it has become highly invasive, causing large scale damage to the Botanical Gardens and destroying some of the 200 species of plant found in the Botanical Gardens.