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Cocos Island,
532 km. southeast of Puntarenas, Costa Rica,
is an oceanic island of volcanic origin,
with a land surface of 24 square km. From
a historical point of view, the most important
areas are the Chatham and Wafer bays, the
only feasible safe docking access on the
island.
Cocos Island first
appears on a world map in 1.542 as the Ysle
de Coques. It was discovered in 1526 by
the Spanish navigator Johan Cabeças.
It is located in the central eastern area
of the Pacific Ocean, facing the Gulf of
Panama, in an area the Spanish called the
South Sea during the exploration and colonization.
Its northern
boundary is Punta Agujas, at latitude 5º
33' 26" north; the southern boundary
is Cape Dampier at 5º 30' 06"
north; it is bordered on the west by Cape
Lionel, 87º 05' 46" west, and
on the east by Cape Atrevido, at 87º
01' 47" west. The closest point on
the American continent is located 532 km.
southwest of Cocos Island at Cape Blanco
on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. The
Pinta (Abingdon) Island on the Galapagos
archipelago, is located 681 km south, and
Malpelo Island (Colombia) at a distance
of 630 km.
Cocos Island has
23.85 sq. km. of land area and 1997 sq.
km. of protected marine ecosystems. It measures
7.6 km. long by 4.4 km. wide.
The plant and animal
life of Cocos Island has been primarily
determined by its geographical context,
as well as its geological history, climate,
exposure to ocean currents and isolation
from the continent. All of these factors
have been responsible for the development
of diverse marine and land environments,
which provided the ecological conditions
to develop an exceptional biological diversity
or biodiversity.
Fauna:
The island does not have any native or autoctonous
mammals. The five mammals found on the island
are rats, pigs, cats, goats and white-tail
deer, all of which were introduced by humans
in the recent past, either intentionally
or accidentally. The wild pigs and rats
constitute a real problem because of their
impact on the environment and on the biological
diversity. Some type of control or management
is required.
Flora:
The plants correspond to the diversity of
plant species found in a defined area. The
flora of Cocos Island is related to that
on the continent, especially to Central
America and northern South America. This
flora arrived on the island by dispersion
from visiting birds, winds, ocean currents
and floating materials.
The integrity of Cocos
Island is threatened by the presence of
foreign species, animals and plants that
were introduced accidentally or intentionally,
which are seriously affecting the biodiversity.
Illegal fishing is seriously compromising
the fauna, the marine ecosystem and the
function of the island as an area for reproduction
and maintenance of marine productivity.
In this section
you will find images of several antique
and modern maps that have been drawn of
Cocos Island.
Cocos Island is a unique
and exceptional insular territory. These
characteristics are determined by a series
of conditions related to its geological
origin, geographical location, and its character
as an oceanic island, which provides a diversity
of natural environments and exceptional
marine and land flora and fauna.
Because of its size,
isolation and state of conservation, Cocos
Island constitutes one of the privileged
natural sites of the world. With an important
endemism and a unique biological diversity,
the island can be catalogued as a natural
laboratory, ideal for conducting research
of the evolution of its species and for
long-term monitoring of the environment.
The results of that research could provide
important information about the dynamic
of ecosystems on the planet and its relation
to the global changes of both marine and
land environments. This shows its great
importance for humanity.
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