Isla Culebrita (little ''Culebra'', little snake) is a small, uninhabited island off the eastern coast of

Culebra, Puerto Rico Isla Culebra (, ''Snake Island'') is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico and geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieque ...

and is part of the Puerto Rico Archipielago. Together with ''Cayo Botella'' off the northwestern point, and ''Pelá'' and ''Pelaita'' to the west, it belongs to the barrio Fraile of Culebra. It is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and is part of the

Culebra National Wildlife Refuge The Culebra National Wildlife Refuge (Spanish: ''Refugio nacional de vida silvestre de Culebra'') is a National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. It is part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which is a unit of the U.S. Fis ...

. The island is home to Culebrita Lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses in the Caribbean. Culebrita is only accessible by private boat from the main island of Culebra.

Geography

Culebrita is a

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

island approximately 1 mile in length and a tourist spot. It is roughly y-shaped with three branches extending from the island's center. ''Punta del Este'' is the easternmost landmass of the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporate ...

. There are six beaches on Culebrita, the chief one being ''Playa Tortuga'' (Turtle Beach) on the north side of the island. The beach is named for the many

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...

s that use the beach for breeding grounds and the surrounding waters for grazing. Sea turtles Tina and Ike call Playa Tortuga home. The other two large beaches are Trash Beach and West Beach. Because Trash Beach is located on the

windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

side of the island, debris is often blown onto this beach. This is how the beach gets its name. West Beach is where the

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

s from Culebra Island dock. Culebrita chart

There are also large

tidal pool A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide. Many tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals that ...

s on the east side of the island where people lounge as if they were large baths. The pools trap small sea life at low tide. The west side of the island contains two

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

s. The

Culebrita Reef Isla Culebrita (little ''Culebra'', little snake) is a small, uninhabited island off the eastern coast of Culebra, Puerto Rico and is part of the Puerto Rico Archipielago. Together with ''Cayo Botella'' off the northwestern point, and ''Pelá'' ...

lays off the southern coast of the island.

Wetlands

Isla Culebrita has two shallow

s, the largest of which, ''Laguna de Molino'' (Mill Lagoon), is located in northwest branch of the island. It covers approximately and is about below sea level. The second lagoon, referred to as the eastern

tidal flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

, is located near the middle of the island's west coast and covers about . Both lagoons are bordered on the seaward-side by a small mangrove fringe. These wetlands are an important habitat for some of the local wildlife.

Flora and fauna

Cacti growing on Culebrita, island off Culebra, Puerto Rico

In 2006, an environmental and cultural resource survey of Culebrita was carried out by Southeastern Archaeological Research (SEARCH) of Jonesville, Florida and Ellis Environmental Group, LC, in conjunction with the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

(USACE), Huntsville in order to identify “cultural resources, sensitive habitats, and endangered plants and animals that may exist” on Isla Culebrita. During the survey, a total of 97 plant species were recorded, none of which are state or federally threatened or endangered species. In addition, 32 birds, 4 reptiles, and 2 mammals were recorded. Of these animals, one federally endangered species, the

brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mout ...

(''Pelecanus occidentalis'') and one threatened species, the

white-cheeked pintail The white-cheeked pintail (''Anas bahamensis''), also known as the Bahama pintail or summer duck, is a species of dabbling duck. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' under its current ...

(''Anas bahamensis'') were observed. Endangered green sea turtles (''Chelonia mydas'') were also observed on the island. The endangered Culebra skink makes its home in Culebrita.

Gallery

Lighthouse on Culebrita, Culebra, Puerto Rico.jpg, Remains of the Lighthouse on Culebrita North Anchorage View From Faro Tower.JPG, North Anchorage view from Faro Tower on Culebrita Turismo en Culebrita, Barrio Fraile, Culebra, Puerto Rico.jpg, Tourists in Culebrita Culebrita Island.png, A photo taken of people snorkeling in Culebrita

References

{{Authority control Culebra, Puerto Rico Uninhabited islands of Puerto Rico