Île Fourchue, also known as Île Fourche is an island between Saint-Barthélemy and Saint Martin, belonging to the Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy. The island's inside is privately owned. It is located about 5 km north-west of the island of Saint Barthelemy. Previously, Fourchue Island was called ''Five Islands'' because of prominent five peaks visible from the distance. The highest point is 103 meter above sea level. It is situated within Réserve naturelle nationale de Saint-Barthélemy.

History

Fourchue Island is known as the retreat of Balthazar Biguard, an immigrant from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

fleeing the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, Saint-Barthélemy being at that time Swedish territory. He ended up acquiring

Swedish citizenship Swedish nationality law determines entitlement to Swedish citizenship. Citizenship of Sweden is based primarily on the principle of ''jus sanguinis''. In other words, citizenship is conferred primarily by birth to a Swedish parent, irrespective ...

, living apart from the rest of the world until he died in 1827 at the age of 85. He is buried on this island.

Important Bird Area

Petite Islette, a 1.3 ha, 33 m high, islet at the western end of Fourchue, has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of

brown boobies The brown booby (''Sula leucogaster'') is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brow ...

. Three species of reptiles are present: the

Lesser Antillean iguana The Lesser Antillean iguana (''Iguana delicatissima'') is a large arboreal lizard endemic to the Lesser Antilles. It is one of three species of lizard of the genus '' Iguana'' and is in severe decline due to habitat destruction, introduced fera ...

(endemic of the Lesser Antilles), Anguilla anole and Caribbean ameiva.

References

Important Bird Areas of Saint Barthélemy Environment of Saint Barthélemy Seabird colonies Islands of Saint Barthélemy Uninhabited islands of France {{SaintBarthélemy-geo-stub