Saona Island
Native name: Isla Saona | |
|---|---|
 Saona Island | |
  Saona Island Saona Island (Dominican Republic) | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Caribbean Sea |
| Coordinates | 18°09′20″N 68°41′58″W / 18.15556°N 68.69944°W |
| Area | 110 km2 (42 sq mi) |
| Length | 25 km (15.5 mi) |
| Width | 5 km (3.1 mi) |
| Coastline | 47 km (29.2 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 35 m (115 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Province | La Romana |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 300 |
| Pop. density | 2.73/km2 (7.07/sq mi) |
Saona Island (Spanish: Isla Saona) is a 110 square kilometer tropical island located off the south-east coast in Dominican Republic's La Altagracia province. It is a government-protected nature reserve and is part of Parque Nacional Cotubanamá.[1]
There are two permanent settlements, the towns of Mano Juan-adamaney and Catuano. Mano Juan is a fishing village with wooden houses and "Catuano beach" has a detachment of the navy.
The island is a popular tourist destination in the Dominican Republic. A number of films such as Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)[2] and The Blue Lagoon have been filmed in part on Saona Island.
Etymology
[edit]Granberry and Vescelius (2004) suggest a Macoris etymology for the name Saona, comparing it with sa-ona 'full of bats' in the purportedly related Warao language of the Orinoco Delta.;[3] However, it is widely accepted that Columbus named it after the Italian city of Savona (see below).
History
[edit]The island was baptized "Saona" by Christopher Columbus, who landed on it in May 1494[4] during his second voyage to the Americas. The name was meant "... to honor Michele da Cuneo, [Columbus'] friend from Savona."[5] Columbus named Michele da Cuneo the first governor of the island.[6]
By 1500, the Tainos on the island provided Santo Domingo with most of its cassava.[7]
Saona Island and Savona (now part of Liguria, northern Italy) still have twinning relationships. The small power plant in Saona Island is a gift of Savona.
Geography
[edit]Saona island is surrounded by sandbars, and a number of coral reef ecosystems with a wide marine diversity.
Flora and fauna
[edit]There are 539 registered species of endemic flora within the Cotubanamá National Park, all in a diversity of ecosystems including wild bushes and mangroves, semi-humid and salted forests.
Four species of neotropical mangrove are present along the Catuano Channel - Red, White, Black, and Button Mangle.
Birds
[edit]Among the 112 species of birds on the island, the most prominent are Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), Magnificent Frigatebirds (Fregata magnificens), Flamingos, Seagulls, endemic Hispaniolan Parrots, and Red-footed Boobies.
Sea life
[edit]In the surrounding Caribbean Sea, 40 species of fish, 10 coral, and 124 mollusks can be found, with other marine life including green sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, manatees, bottle-nose dolphins, rhinoceros iguanas, and octopuses.[8][9]
Tourism
[edit]Saona Island is one of the most visited locations in the Dominican Republic with over 1 million visitors per year.[10] It is the most visited protected area in the Dominican Republic, capturing 45% of the visits to protected areas in 2019.[11]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Ley 5597 de 1962 que modifica la ley 5220 de 1959" (PDF).
- ^ "Movies filmed in the Dominican Republic - Lopesan Costa Bávaro". Hotel Lopesan Costa Bávaro Resort, Spa & Casino (Punta Cana). 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ Granberry, Julian, & Gary Vescelius (2004). Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-5123-X.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Saona Island". Bayahibe Village. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- ^ Paolo Emilio Taviani, Columbus the Great Adventure, Orion Books, New York (1991) p. 185
- ^ Felipe Fernández-Armesto, Columbus, Oxford Univ. Press, (1991) pp. 103-104.
- ^ Floyd, Troy (1973). The Columbus Dynasty in the Caribbean, 1492-1526. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. p. 57.
- ^ "Saona Island, Ecological Reserve | Saona Dreams". Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ adisontabor11 (2016-05-11). "The Birds Of Saona Island In the Dominican Republic". Medium. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Hosteltur. "Gobierno dominicano anticipa un plan para relanzar Bayahíbe | Economía". Hosteltur: Toda la información de turismo (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ Dominican Republic's Tourist Destinations Report (PDF) (Report). Punta Cana: Ministerio de Turismo. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-07-09.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Saona Island at Wikimedia Commons
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