Malpelo Island

Map of Malpelo Island

Malpelo is a small island in the East Pacific Ocean, located about 500 km (310 mi) west of the Colombian mainland. Except for a small military post that is manned by the Colombian Armed Forces, it is uninhabited. It consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks, the highest being Cerro de la Mona with a height of 300 metres (980 ft). The island is about one mile in length from northeast to southwest, and 700 yards in width.

It 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 with a length of 300 kilometres (190 mi) and a width of 100 kilometres (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 Salomon, Saul, 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 of between 1,000 and 5,000 fathoms are obtainable within a few miles of the shore, and the currents are strong and changeable. As an oceanic island, this island has never been connected with any other islands or the mainland.^[1][2]

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.^[1][2][3]

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 establish, all of which glean nutrients from the guano. The Malpelo Nature Reserve, a plant and wildlife sanctuary, is defined as a circular area of radius 9.656 kilometres (6.000 mi) centered at 03°58′30″N 81°34′48″W / 3.97500°N 81.58000°W / 3.97500; -81.58000. On July 12, 2006, Malpelo was declared by UNESCO as a natural World Heritage Site. A Colombian foundation^[4] is trying to preserve the biodiversity of the site.

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 sharkdiving location. Malpelo 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".^[5] Acanthemblemaria stephensi, the Malpelo barnacle blenny, is a species of chaenopsid blenny found in coral reefs around Malpelo.

A DX-pedition to the island occurred in early 2012. Malpelo counts as a separate "entity" for amateur radio credit. Because of the rugged terrain, strong currents, and remote location the island is rarely activated.^[6] The operators made 195,292 contacts under very difficult conditions.^[7]

Chronology

• 1530 - Malpelo is said to be recorded in a map of this date.
• 1542 - Cristóbal Vaca de Castro visits.
• 1550 - Malpelo is recorded in P. Desceliers' map.
• 1704 - Wreck of the English vessel Cinque Ports
• 1790 - Spanish landing on Malpelo mentioned to Alessandro Malaspina.
• 1793 - James Colnett visits.
• 1837 - Note in The Nautical Magazine recording visit.
• 1891 - Louis Agassiz visits.

Gallery

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  Shore and cliffs

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  Nazca booby Sula granti

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now 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
• Report on diving at Malpelo, with photos of sharks (German)
• Isla de MALPELO (Colombia) (Spanish)

Eastern Pacific Islands Islands between Polynesia and the Americas, by country, from north to south. Coastal islands not included.  Mexico Guadalupe Island Islote Afuera (Outer Islet) Islote Adentro (Inner Islet) Church Rock Roca del Skip Islote Negro Roca Hundida Islote Bernal two unnamed islets Steamboat Rock Roca Elefante Rocas Alijos South Rock Middle Rock North Rock numerous smaller rocks Revillagigedo Islands Socorro (San Tomás) San Benedicto Roca Partida Clarión (Santa Rosa)  France Clipperton Island and islets  Costa Rica Cocos Island Manuelita other islets  Colombia Gorgona Island Malpelo Island and islets  Ecuador Galápagos Islands list  Chile Desventuradas Islands San Ambrosio San Félix González Roca Catedral Juan Fernández Islands Robinson Crusoe Juanango Alejandro Selkirk Santa Clara

World Heritage Sites in Colombia Historic Centre of Santa Cruz de Mompox Los Katíos National Park Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary National Archeological Park of Tierradentro Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena San Agustín Archeological Park Coffee-Growers Axis