Saona Island ( es, Isla Saona) is a 110 square kilometer tropical island located off the south-east coast in

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

's La Altagracia province. It is a government-protected nature reserve and is part of '' Parque Nacional Cotubanamá''. There are two permanent settlements, the towns of ''Mano Juan'' and ''Catuano.'' Mano Juan is a fishing village with wooden houses and "Catuano beach" has a detachment of the navy. The island is a popular destination for tourists from all over the Dominican Republic, who arrive in fleets of catamarans and small motorboats on organized excursions every day. It is known for its beaches, and has been used on a number of occasions by filmmakers and advertisers looking for a stereotypical "deserted island" setting for their film or product. Such notable films include

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with the ...

(2003), and The Blue Lagoon.

Etymology

Granberry and Vescelius (2004) suggest a Macoris etymology for the name ''Saona'', comparing it with ''sa-ona'' 'full of bats' in the purportedly related

Warao language Warao (also known as Guarauno, Guarao, Warrau) is the native language of the Warao people. A language isolate, it is spoken by about 33,000 people primarily in northern Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname. It is notable for its unusual object–subje ...

of the

Orinoco Delta The Orinoco Delta is a vast river delta of the Orinoco River, located in eastern Venezuela. Location The Orinoco Delta is one of the eight natural regions of Venezuela. It covers the whole of Delta Amacuro State and a few square kilometers of ...

.; However, it is widely accepted that Columbus named it after the Italian city of

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

(see below).

History

The island was baptized "Saona" by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

, who landed on it in May 1494 during his second voyage to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

. The name was meant "... to honor Michele da Cuneo, olumbus'friend from

." Columbus named Michele da Cuneo the first governor of the island. By 1500, the Tainos on the island provided

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

with most of its

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

. Saona Island and Savona (now part of

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

) still have twinning relationships. The small

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

in Saona Island is a gift of Savona.

Geography

The seas around the Island are rich in

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

, with many species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

and tropical marine

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

, and there are large areas where natural sandbars offshore bring the depth to just a few feet. Smaller speed boats stop for tourists to relax in the waist-deep shallows where they snorkel, and explore the fields of

starfish Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish a ...

indigenous to the region. Near and around Saona island are coral reef ecosystems with impressive marine diversity that attract snorkelers and scuba divers alike.

Flora and fauna

There are 539 registered species of endemic flora within the

Cotubanamá National Park Cotubanamá National Park (formerly ''Parque Nacional del Este'') is located on the lower southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic, spanning across the provinces of La Altagracia and La Romana with an area of 791.9 sq. kilometers which inc ...

, all in a diversity of ecosystems including wild bushes and mangroves, semi-humid and salted forests. Four species of

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

mangrove are present along the Catuano Channel - Red, White, Black, and Button Mangle. Sula sula by Gregg Yan 01

Birds

Among the 112 species of birds on the island, the most prominent are Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), Magnificent Frigatebirds (Fregata magnificens), Flamingos,

Seagulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...

, endemic Hispaniolan Parrots, and

Red-footed Boobies The red-footed booby (''Sula sula'') is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. Adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings. They are f ...

Sea life

In the surrounding Caribbean Sea, 40 species of fish, 10 coral, and 124 mollusks can be found, with notable

green sea turtles The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

, loggerhead sea turtles,

manatees Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

, bottle-nose dolphins, rhinoceros iguanas, and octopus.

Tourism

As one of the most visited locations in the Dominican Republic with over 1 million visitors per year, Saona offers visitors a unique variety of things to do, from sunbathing on turquoise beaches, to more adventurous activities such as snorkeling. Below is a list of some of the popular activities on Saona Island. It is the most visited protected area in the Dominican Republic, capturing 45% of the visits to protected areas in 2019.https://situr.mitur.gob.do/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Punta-Cana.pdf

References

External links

* {{Authority control Islands of the Dominican Republic Geography of La Altagracia Province Protected areas of the Dominican Republic Tourist attractions in La Altagracia Province