Gorgona, Colombia
Encyclopedia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
situated about 50 km off the Colombian Pacific coast and part of the municipality of Guapi
Guapi, Cauca
Guapi is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia. The municipality of Guapi is located on the Guapi River four miles away from the Pacific Ocean and also covers the island of Gorgona....
in the Department of Cauca. The island is about 9 km long (5.6 mi) and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide, with a maximum height of 338 m (1,110 ft); with an area of 10 square miles (26 km²). It is surrounded by numerous smaller stacks
Stack (geology)
A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...
and keys
Cay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
. Gorgona is separated from the continent by a 270 meter (885 ft) deep underwater depression. The island functioned as a prison (similar to Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. Often referred to as "The Rock" or simply "Traz", the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal...
) until 1985 when it was turned into a National Natural Reservation Park noted for a large number of endemic species resulting from its isolation from the American continent
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
History
Before AmericaAmericas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
was discovered, Gorgona was first inhabited, by people possibly associated with the Tumaco, Tolita culture. The indigenous Kuna or Cuna of Urabá
Urabá
Urabá or Uraba may refer to:* Gulf of Urabá, a gulf in the Caribbean sea in Colombia.* Urabá Region, a subregion of Colombia.* Urabá Region, a subregion of Colombia.* Urabá Antioquia, a subregion of the Antioquia Department, Colombia....
(Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
) and San Blas (Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
), have the tradition of being the first settlers of the island. They left archeological remains that are at least 3300 years old. Spanish conquerors first visited Gorgona in 1527 when Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
, in his third expedition to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, discovered the island. Pizarro and thirteen of his men remained for seven months in Gorgona waiting for the arrival of provisions.
In the period after the Spanish Conquest, the Cacique
Cacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
Yundigua, lived in the island. He probably was a member of the indigenous group Sindagua, a tribe that lived between Nariño and Cauca
Cauca Department
Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...
.
Gorgona housed a state high security prison from the 1950s. Convicts were dissuaded from escaping by the poisonous snakes in the interior of the island and the sharks patrolling the 30 km to the mainland. The penal colony was closed in 1984 and the last prisoners were transferred to Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
mainland. The former jail buildings now have been covered by dense vegetation, but a portion can still be seen. The island was established as Gorgona Island National Park in 1985, in order to preserve its endemic species, the richly varied wildlife of the sub-tropical forest and the coral reefs offshore. The park covers an area of 120000 acres (485.6 km²).
Gorgona has no permanent population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
, except staff involved in the administration and preservation of the National Park. The island has been developed as an Ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
center with lodgings and a restaurant. Visitors need previous permission to come to the island. Gorgona can host around 80 visitors at one given time. Camping is not allowed, and the only housing available is the one provided by the park administration in El Poblado, the only settlement area of the island. It is a very quiet place, built facing the ocean. Each group is assigned one guide upon arrival to accompany the tourists wherever the group wishes to go. Since Gorgona is a tropical environment known for its poisonous snakes, visitors are not allowed to set foot anywhere unaccompanied and not wearing boots, except for the beach in front of the rooms.
Weather
The island has an average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. With an average 98% humidityHumidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
, intense rainfalls and misty days are frequent; Gorgona is said to have its own cloud, always looming on its mountaintop. It rains all year around, but even more so in September and October. The island has at least twenty-five permanent fresh-water streams. In less than half a kilometer in the beach called La Camaronera ten creeks reach the sand. The shores of Gorgona are predominantly steep plunging cliffs, minor sandy, and shingle beaches supplied on its eastern side, by coral reef detritus. A dense very humid jungle covers the center of the island.
Fauna
The island is best known for the yearly visit humpback whales pay its shores from August to October accompanied by their newborn. Gorgona is also a snorkeling and diving paradise. The islands dense rainforest has been isolated for thousands of years from the mainland, and gives shelter to some unique species like the endemic Blue AnoleBlue anole
The blue anole is a small, highly threatened species of polychrotid lizard.-Geographic range:It is found only on the island of Gorgona, in Colombia.-Description:...
, which is the only all-blue anole lizard in the world.
Gorgona is famous for its snakes. There are three venomous snakes including the much-feared terciopelo Bothrops atrox
Bothrops atrox
Bothrops atrox is a venomous pitviper species found in the tropical lowlands of northern South America east of the Andes. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:...
and two species of Coral snake
Coral snake
The coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be subdivided into two distinct groups, Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes...
. Many non-venomous snakes such as the Boa constrictor
Boa constrictor
The Boa constrictor is a large, heavy-bodied species of snake. It is a member of the family Boidae found in North, Central, and South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive...
and Oxybelis aeneus
Oxybelis aeneus
Oxybelis aeneus, the Mexican Vine Snake or Brown Vine Snake, is a colubrid snake that ranges from southern Arizona in the United States, through Mexico to northern South America and Trinidad and Tobago. It feeds mainly on lizards, but also eats frogs and birds.This is an extremely slender snake...
also inhabit the island. Two introduced species that are very visible on the island are the Basiliscus galeritus
Basiliscus galeritus
The Western basilisk, or red-headed basilisk , is a large species of corytophanid lizard.-Geographic range:It inhabits western Colombia and Ecuador up through Central America.-Description:...
and the White-headed Capuchin
White-headed Capuchin
The white-headed capuchin , also known as the white-faced capuchin or white-throated capuchin, is a medium-sized New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae...
.
The Brown Booby
Brown Booby
The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...
breeding population nesting in Gorgona NNP is small, but is the most important breeding territory for Sula leucogaster etesiaca in the world. The population of 150 pairs registered in 2002 exceeds the number of individuals in other regional localities. Brown Boobies in Gorgona NNP breed asynchronously; on the same date Ospina-Alvarez recorded eggs, chicks in early or youthful stages, and fledged chicks. The calculated accumulative RS (17.3%) included more than 95% of all pairs breeding in 2002 - 2003, but this may change to year after year.