Los Testigos Islands ( es, Islas Los Testigos, Witnesses Islands) are a group of islands in the southeastern
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
. They are a part of the ''Dependencias Federales'' (
Federal Dependencies
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 ...
) 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 ...
.
Geography
The Los Testigos Islands are located about northeast of
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
and about northeast of
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island.
History
...
. The coordinates of the main island are .The archipelago has an area of 6.53 square km (2.52 square miles)
1 and consists of 6 major islands and a number of smaller rock islets.
[Hernández Caballero, Serafín (Editor). 1998: Gran Enciclopedia de Venezuela. Editorial Globe, C.A. Caracas. 10 volúmenes. ]
The larger
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
s are:
* ''Isla Testigo Grande'', main island
* ''Isla Conejo'', east of the main island
* ''Isla Iguana'', south of the main island
* ''Isla Morro Blanco'', south of the main island
* ''Isla Noreste'', northeast of the main island
* ''Isla Rajado'', east of the main island
The larger rock
islet
An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...
s are:
* ''El Chivo''
* ''Peñón de Fuera''
The population is about 200 inhabitants (according to 2001 census) mostly being fishing families. There is a small
military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
operated by the
Venezuelan navy
)
, mascot =
, battles = Venezuelan War of Independence and the Battle of Lake Maracaibo
, anniversaries = July 24, Birthday of Simon Bolivar, Navy Day and Battle of Lake Maracai ...
on the main island.
History
In 1938, the islands were put under the administration of the ''Ministerio del Interior y de Justicia'' (Ministry of Interior and Justice)
2 as part of the Dependencias Federales.
On August 9, 1972, the islands, together with the other islands of the Dependencias Federales, were declared a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
3 with the park being established on August 18.
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 Espar ...
*
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 ...
References
External links
About Los Testigos IslandsMap of the Dependencias Federales with location of the Los Testigos IslandsMap of Los Testigos Islands
{{coord, 11, 22, 59, N, 63, 05, 50, W, display=title, region:VE_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki
Federal Dependencies of Venezuela
Venezuelan islands of the Leeward Antilles