La Tortuga Island (; "La Tortuga" means "the turtle") is an uninhabited island of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, the largest in the
Federal Dependencies of Venezuela
The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela ( es, link=no, Dependencias Federales de Venezuela) encompass most of Venezuela's offshore islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela, excluding those islands that form the State of Nueva Espa ...
. It is part of a group of islands that include the
Tortuguillos and
Cayo Herradura. Isla La Tortuga has an area of .
History
The island was visited by
Amerindians
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...
from the coast of present-day Venezuela to exploit its natural resources including salt, fish and turtles, well before
Spanish colonization of the New World. It is not known by which European explorer the island was first seen and named, yet the name derives from the large numbers of
marine turtles
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, loggerhead, ...
that come to lay eggs on its long sandy beaches every year.
![Cayo herradura isla la tortuga Venezuela](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Cayo_herradura_isla_la_tortuga_Venezuela.jpg)
The island was seasonally visited by the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
who came there to exploit the
salt evaporation ponds
A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural s ...
on the east of the island between 1624 and 1638. They constructed a fort on the island to guard their salt works and repel the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
who were eager to keep the Dutch off the island. They were definitively expelled in 1638 when the Spanish governor of
Cumaná,
Benito Arias Montano
Benito Arias Montano (or Benedictus Arias Montanus; 1527–1598) was a Spanish orientalist and polymath that was active mostly in Spain. He was also editor of the '' Antwerp Polyglot''. He reached the high rank of Royal Chaplain to King Philip II ...
, and his forces destroyed their facilities and flooded the
salt pans.
Since then, with the exception of fishermen who visit the island seasonally, the island has remained unpopulated and largely untouched. There is some tourism on the island.
Gallery
La Tortuga Island Federal Dependencies Venezuela (1).jpg
La Tortuga Island Federal Dependencies Venezuela (2).jpg
La Tortuga Island Federal Dependencies Venezuela (3).jpg
La Tortuga 2010 007.jpg
Isla La Tortuga Dep Fed Venezuela 1.jpg
See also
*
Federal Dependencies of Venezuela
The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela ( es, link=no, Dependencias Federales de Venezuela) encompass most of Venezuela's offshore islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela, excluding those islands that form the State of Nueva Espa ...
*
List of marine molluscs of Venezuela
The marine molluscs of Venezuela are a part of the molluscan fauna of Venezuela. The marine molluscs are the snails, clams and mussels, chitons, octopuses, squid and cuttlefish that live in marine and estuarine habitats. The freshwater and land ...
*
List of Poriferans of Venezuela
The sponges of Venezuela are a part of the Porifera fauna of Venezuela (which is part of the wildlife of Venezuela).
A number of species of sponges are found in the wild in Venezuela.
This is a partial list of the marine and freshwater sponges ...
*
Cariaco Basin
The Cariaco Basin lies off the north central coast of Venezuela and forms the Gulf of Cariaco. It is bounded on the east by Margarita Island, Cubagua Island, and the Araya Peninsula; on the north by Tortuga Island and the Tortuga Banks; on the ...
References
External links
Official websiteLa Tortuga Foundation
{{Coord, 10, 55, 54, N, 65, 18, 29, W, region:VE_type:isle, display=title
Uninhabited islands of Venezuela
Federal Dependencies of Venezuela
Venezuelan islands of the Leeward Antilles