Ilha da Culatra em vista aérea da barra com a Armona

Culatra Island is a

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...

located in the

Ria Formosa The Ria Formosa lagoon, located in the Algarve, in southern Portugal, is a system of barrier islands that connects to the sea through six inlets. Five of these inlets are natural and have mobility characteristics. The sixth is an artificial inle ...

in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

region of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. It has an approximate population of around 700 people divided across three communities of Farol, Hângares and Culatra.

Geography & Layout

The island is located 10 km from Faro, and 6 km east of the town of

Olhão Olhão (), officially known as Olhão da Restauração, is a city and municipality in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 45,396, in an area of . Located near the regional capital Faro and form ...

. Administratively, the island belongs to the

freguesia ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Por ...

of Faro (Sé e São Pedro). The island is around 6 kilometres in length and ranges from 100 to 900 metres in width. Public access to the island is possible by year-round ferry service from both Faro and Olhão. Private water taxis are also available. The island has an extensive sandy beach on its ocean side, while the lagoon side is used for anchorage for yachts and boats. Throughout the island is a range of protected sand dunes that are part of the protected area of the Ria Formosa Natural Park.Parque Natural Ria Formosa
https://natural.pt/ Accessed 17 November 2020 Access through the dunes is by several raised wooden walkways to access the main beach of Praia da Culatra. On the western tip of the island is the historic lighthouse of Farol Santa Maria. File:Cabo de Santa Maria Lighthouse.jpg, Cabo de Santa Maria Lighthouse in Culatra Island File:Olhao Portugal aerial view.jpg, Ilha da Armona (right) and Ilha da Culatra (left)

References

Islands of Portugal Islands of the Algarve Barrier islands {{Faro-geo-stub