Isla Cardona, also known as Sor Isolina Ferré Island, is a small, uninhabited island located 1.30 nautical miles south of the mainland Puerto Rican shore across from Barrio Playa, on the west side of the entrance to the harbor of

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. The small island is considered part of barrio Playa. It is home to the 1889

Cardona Island Light Cardona Island Light (also known as Faro del Puerto de Ponce or Cayo Cardona Light) is the only 6th order lighthouse in Puerto Rico with a cylindrical attached tower. The light is located on Cardona Island, a small island on the west side of th ...

, which is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Together with

Caja de Muertos Caja de Muertos (; also in English: ''Coffin Island'') is an uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, in the municipality of Ponce. The island and its surrounding waters are protected by the Caja de Muertos Nature Reserve, beca ...

, Gatas,

Morrillito Morrillito is a small uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The island is protected by the ''Reserva Natural Caja de Muertos'' natural reserve because of its native turtle traffic. Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Raton ...

, Ratones,

Isla del Frio Isla or ISLA may refer to: Organizations * International Securities Lending Association, a trade association * International School of Los Angeles * International Bilingual School, later named International School of Los Angeles People * Isla (g ...

, and

Isla de Jueyes Isla de Jueyes are a group of three small uninhabited islands off the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Morrillito, Ratones, Cardona, and Isla del Frío, Isla de Jueyes is one of seven islands ascribed to ...

, Cardona is one of seven islands ascribed to the municipality of Ponce. The island gained notoriety in 2010 when the Puerto Rican Bird Society made it a target for the eradication of the

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

Location

Located on the

Bahía de Ponce Bahía de Ponce (Ponce Bay) is a bay in Barrio Playa, Ponce, Puerto Rico. The Bay is home to the most important commercial harbor on the Puerto Rico south coast and the second largest in Puerto Rico. The Cardona Island Light is located on the ...

, the island has an area of . The island, sometimes erroneously called a key (or

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

), is located at latitude 17°57"24.3' and longitude -66°38'5.9' (latitude 17.95672N, longitude: -66.634982W). The short distance from the mainland shore makes Cardona a popular landing point for aquatic events such as

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

and summing, and every year the island is visited by dozens of swimmers in the annual '' Cruce a Nado'', an international swimming competition sponsored by the Ponce Municipal Government.

Name

The name "Cardona" is believed to come from the last name of a family of lighthouse keepers stationed at the island for many decades. Whatever its origin, the island is now also called " Sor Isolina Ferré" in appreciation and to the memory of the religious woman that dedicated her life to the betterment of the residents of

Barrio Playa Barrio Playa, also known as Playa de Ponce, Ponce Playa, or La Playa, is one of the thirty-one barrios that comprise the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Bucaná, Canas, Vayas, and Capitanejo, Playa is one of the municipality's ...

, of which Cardona Island is a part.

Tourism

The island can be seen from the observation tower on the

La Guancha boardwalk Paseo Tablado La Guancha (English: ''La Guancha Boardwalk'') is a boardwalk in the La Guancha sector of the Playa barrio in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, facing the Caribbean Sea. It was built under the mayoral administration of Rafael Cord ...

and is accessible by private boat. Starting in the summer of 2018, tourists can also board a ferry for a trip to the island. The island offers "a beautiful, nice snorkeling, some trails to explore, and a lighthouse." The ferry trips ceased in January 2020 after a major earthquake struck the area, but restarted six months later. The island is administered by the

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER) is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico tasked with protecting, conserving, developing, and managing the natural and environmental resources in Pue ...

Geography and climate

The island is mostly a low island covered by brushwood. The climate is dry and the island supports

dry forest Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medical) * ...

Black rat

In 2010, the Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (Puerto Rican Bird Society) and the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club launched a campaign to eradicate the

from the island.''Restauran hábitat del lagartijo del seco Anolis cooki en la Isla de Cardona y Cayo Ratones.''
4 August 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2011.

References

External links

''Por la libre en Cayo Cardona en Ponce.''
Sandra Torres Guzmán. 3 October 2018. Primera Hora. Accessed 19 January 2019.] {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardona, Isla Islands of Ponce, Puerto Rico Uninhabited islands of Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in Ponce, Puerto Rico