Deserta Grande Island

Deserta Grande island
Location of Deserta Grande Island in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Deserta Grande Island is the main island of the Desertas Islands archipelago, a small chain of three islands in the Portuguese Madeira Islands Archipelago of Macaronesia.

West coast of Deserta Grande Island, from nature reserve base.

It is located 23 kilometres (14 mi) southeast of Madeira Island, off the western coast of North Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.

Nature reserve

The island is part of the Desertas Islands nature reserve, with a warden's base midway along the western coast.

South of the base, no approach to the island closer than 100 m is permitted in order to protect the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal breeding population. Access is permitted to the north of the nature base, but some activities such as line and spear fishing are banned.

The island has breeding Cory's shearwaters, Bulwer's petrels and Madeiran storm-petrels

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Desertas Islands
(Ilhas Desertas).

Coordinates: 32°31′11″N 16°30′27″W / 32.5197°N 16.5075°W / 32.5197; -16.5075


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