Isla del Caño

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View from Isla del Cano

Isla Del Caño is a small island in the Bahia de Coronado (Bay of Coronado) in Costa Rica. It is on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica, west of the Peninsula de Osa. It has been established as a protected national park, with a permanent ranger station on the island. It is a popular tourist destination, attracting visitors for its beaches, coral beds, and sea life. Researchers currently use the coral beds to study the factors surrounding coral death and recolonization. Marine life includes manta rays, dolphins, sea turtles, whales, and a wide variety of fish. The limited diversity of terrestrial fauna, however, is noticeable, with the island having less than one percent of the insect diversity of the peninsula and an absence of numerous animals native to the nearby mainland. Evidence of pre-Colombian human activity on the island is substantial, with some of the most interesting artifacts being stone spheres evidently carved by early civilizations.