Location of Gorgona Island relative to mainland Department of Cauca.

Gorgona is a Colombian island in the Pacific Ocean situated about 50 km off the Colombian Pacific coast and part of the municipality of Guapi in the Department of Cauca. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions Guapi is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia. The island is about 9 km long and 2. 5 km wide, with a maximum height of 338 m; with an area of 10 square miles (26 km²). It is surrounded by numerous smaller stacks and keys. A stack is a geological Landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast Gorgona is separated from the continent by a 270 meter deep underwater depression. The island functioned as a prison (similar to Alcatraz Island) 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. Alcatraz Island, sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or locally as the Rock, is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America

History

Before America was discovered, Gorgona was first inhabited, by people possibly associated with the Tumaco, Tolita culture. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America The indigenous Kuna or Cuna of Urabá (Colombia) and San Blas (Panama), have the tradition of being the first settlers of the island. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. They left archeological remains that are at least 3300 years old. Spanish explorers first visited Gorgona in 1527 when Francisco Pizarro, in his third expedition to Peru, discovered the island. Francisco Pizarro González 1st Marqués de los Atabillos (c 1471 or 1476 &ndash 26 June 1541 was a Spanish Conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire 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 Yundigua, lived in the island. Cacique or Cazique (female form Cacica) from the Taíno word for the Pre-Columbian tribal chiefs or leaders, of the Taino He probably was a member of the indigenous group Sindagua, a tribe that lived between Nariño and Cauca.

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 mainland. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. 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 120,000 acres.

Gorgona has no permanent population, except staff involved in the administration and preservation of the National Park. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology The island has been developed as an Ecotourism center with lodgings and a restaurant. Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of Tourism that appeals to ecologically and socially conscious individuals 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 the only settlement area of the island called: El Poblado. 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 follow. Being a tropical environment known for its poisonous snakes, visitors are not allowed to go anywhere besides the beach in front of the rooms unaccompanied and without wearing boots.

Weather

The island has an average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. The Celsius Temperature scale was previously known as the centigrade scale. With an average 98% humidity, intense rainfalls and misty days are frequent; Gorgona is said to have its own cloud, always looming on its mountaintop. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean Relative humidity. 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.

Local fauna

The island is best known for the yearly visit humpback whales pay its shores from August to October accompanied by their newborn. The humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) is a Baleen Whale. 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 Blue Lizard of Gorgona. Not to be confused with the Caribbean blue lizard (Anolis roquet or the Cuban Blue Anole (Anolis allisoni The blue Anole ( Anolis gorgonae

External links

• (Spanish) Gorgona Island National Park
• (Spanish) University of Valle; Biological Monitoring for Contamination