Ilhéu Rabo de Junco

Ilhéu Rabo de Junco
Geography
Location Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates 16°42′00″N 22°59′35″W / 16.700°N 22.993°W / 16.700; -22.993Coordinates: 16°42′00″N 22°59′35″W / 16.700°N 22.993°W / 16.700; -22.993
Area 0.02 km2 (0.0077 sq mi)
Length 0.26 km (0.162 mi)
Width 0.17 km (0.106 mi)
Highest elevation 18 m (59 ft)
Administration
Cape Verde
Municipality Sal
Demographics
Population 0

Ilhéu Rabo de Junco is an uninhabited islet near the west coast of Sal Island, Cape Verde. It lies about 270 to 500 meters from the coast, its length is 253 meters long and 165 meters wide, its shoreline is about 878 m long.[1] It is the only islet next to the island of Sal. The island has been designated a protected area as a nature reserve[2] Baía da Murdeira is to the east, southeast of the islet, further east is the highest point in southern Sal named Monte Leão (the Lion Hill) elevating 165 meters. Together with the nearby island's headland, it is the area that is closest headland to the island of São Nicolau at Ponta Leste being 109 km west.

The islet is a mountainous underwater volcano and was once connected to the rest of the island about thousands of years ago. The total size is 1 ha.

Each year, Humpback whales visit the waters around the islet during their mating season in the winter months, especially at Baía de Murdeira which also serves as its breeding ground alongside its shallow waters surrounding the island.

The islet was mentioned as the Middle Dutch form of Rabadyunk (Modern spelling: Rabadunk) in the 1747 French/Dutch map by Jacques Nicolas Bellin.

References

  1. ↑ MAHOT Cartography, 2012
  2. ↑ "Protected areas of Cape Verde" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2012-01-19.
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