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Cal Islet ( pt, Ilhéu da Cal, also: ''Ilhéu de Baixo'') is a small island about south of Porto Santo Island, in the
/ref> The islet has never been inhabited.
Cal Islet houses an important testimony to the history and culture of Porto Santo. It was once mined for lime (''cal'' in Portuguese). Its extraction led to several accidents, one of which killed sixteen workers, victims of a mine collapse. The mines are no longer active, but remnants are still intact and can be visited with a proper license and specialized escort.
The construction of a cable car was planned to connect the tip of Calheta (in Porto Santo) to the islet. The project was abandoned because the large numbers of visitors would have endangered the regeneration of the islet's fragile ecosystem.
Despite of its rough appearance, this islet is home to a very rich flora, which includes the usual coastal shrubs and some traces of laurisilva, probably due to its difficult access. It is also a breeding ground for at least four species of birds, the
Olhares.aeiou.pt: photo of Cal Islet—''Ilhéu da Cal''
Porto Santo Island Cal Islet Cal Islet {{madeira-geo-stub
Madeira Archipelago
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
, Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
. With an area of , Cal is the largest of six islets close to Porto Santo. The highest point is .Porto Santo – História/ref> The islet has never been inhabited.
History
Cal Islet houses an important testimony to the history and culture of Porto Santo. It was once mined for lime (''cal'' in Portuguese). Its extraction led to several accidents, one of which killed sixteen workers, victims of a mine collapse. The mines are no longer active, but remnants are still intact and can be visited with a proper license and specialized escort.
The construction of a cable car was planned to connect the tip of Calheta (in Porto Santo) to the islet. The project was abandoned because the large numbers of visitors would have endangered the regeneration of the islet's fragile ecosystem.
Ecological Preservation
Despite of its rough appearance, this islet is home to a very rich flora, which includes the usual coastal shrubs and some traces of laurisilva, probably due to its difficult access. It is also a breeding ground for at least four species of birds, the Atlantic canary
The Atlantic canary (''Serinus canaria''), known worldwide simply as the wild canary and also called the island canary, common canary, or canary, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus ''Serinus'' in the finch family, Fringillidae. I ...
, the Berthelot's pipit, the plain swift and the little shearwater and home to endemic land snails, ''Amphorella cimensis
''Amphorella cimensis'' is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Ferussaciidae.
Distribution and habitat
This species is endemic to Madeira, Portugal, where it is restricted to Porto Sant ...
'' and ''Leiostyla relevata
''Leiostyla relevata'' is a species of small air-breathing land snail in the family Lauriidae. It is endemic to Ilhéu de Baixo, an islet near Porto Santo Island in the Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeir ...
''. For these reasons, its ecosystem is protected by the Portuguese PDM and Rede Natura 2000.
References
External links
Olhares.aeiou.pt: photo of Cal Islet—''Ilhéu da Cal''
Porto Santo Island Cal Islet Cal Islet {{madeira-geo-stub