Everything about The Desventuradas Islands totally explained
The
Desventuradas Islands are relatively small oceanic islands located approximately 870 km off the coast of
Chile; they're part of the
Valparaíso municipality. The Desventuradas Islands consist of the two main islands
Isla San Félix and
Isla San Ambrosio and several rocks and
stacks:
Islote González or
Isla González, a small islet that's located southeast of
Isla San Félix and
Roca Catedral which is located north of
Isla San Félix. Together, the Desventuradas Islands have a surface area of only 3.9 km². The topography is very rugged, with peak elevations of 193 m on
Isla San Félix, 479 m on
Isla (de) San Ambrosio, 173 m on
Islote/Isla Gonzalez and 53 m on
Roca Catedral.
Both islands are of
volcanic origin, and the
flora and
fauna are of great scientific interest, though there's little known about it.
Isla (de) San Ambrosio rises from the sea as sheer cliffs on almost all sides, is 4 km long by 850 m wide, and primarily
basaltic.
Isla San Félix is slightly smaller and has two small peaks, reaching 193 m, which are denuded by high winds. The vegetation is a miniature mosaic of matorral, barren rock, various size trees, and shrubs mixed with ferns and perennial herbs. There is a single-runway military airfield in San Félix (
ICAO code: SCFX).
There are no permanent sources of fresh water on the islands. Vertebrates inhabiting both islands are exclusively limited to birds. Ten species of marine birds and one land bird species, some of them endangered, make their nests on or visit the islands.
Because of their isolation and difficulty of access, there are no human settlements on these islands, but a detachment of the
Chilean Navy is stationed on
Isla San Félix, which also hosts a 2,000 meter runway.
History
The islands were sighted by
Juan Fernández in
1574, and perhaps earlier by
Ferdinand Magellan in
1520.
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa wrote in
1579 that "they are now called after St Felix and St Ambor [for example
Felix and Nabor])". However, by linguistic corruption, the name of the
martyr Ambor (Nabor) became confused with that of the more famous bishop
Saint Ambrose (San Ambrosio).
List of islands and location
Desventuradas Islands ('Unfortunate Islands'), from east to west:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Desventuradas Islands'.
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