Sa Dragonera () is an uninhabited

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 permanen ...

in the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, located just off the west coast of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

. It is currently a natural park.

Geography

Geologically speaking, Dragonera is an emerged part of the geologic system running southwest-northeast in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

. This runs from the Málaga province through Cap de la Nau and then gets submerged under the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. It surfaces again to form the island of

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its la ...

, the Tramuntana Range in the island of Majorca and Sa Dragonera itself. The silhouette of the mountain range vaguely resembles a

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

, hence its name. Sa Dragonera is approximately 3,200 metres in length and has a maximum width of 500 metres. Although its highest hill Pico Popi is only 360 metres high, the island's overall relief is very abrupt, especially considering its small size, which made the islet of little importance in historic times. The island is a part of the municipality of

Andratx Andratx () is a municipality on Mallorca, one of the Balearic Islands, along the Mediterranean east coast of Spain. It is located on the southwest tip of the island. Port d'Andratx, located a few miles south of Andratx, is an exclusive resort. ...

, which is, along with Sant Elm (both in nearby Majorca), the closest towns to the island. Dragonera has a small natural port in the Cala Lladó area.

History

The name of Dragonera comes from

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

that was associated to the shape that the island has from a specific perspective, and from the large number of endemic

Lilford's wall lizard Lilford's wall lizard (''Podarcis lilfordi'' ) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Balearic Islands, Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, and rock ...

s. There is an

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

in the Es Lladó area, but there are no other signs of historical permanent settling. During the 18th century two defensive

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

s were built on the island in order to watch for the numerous Barbary pirates operating in the area. In 1910 the lighthouses of Tramuntana (north) and Llebeig (southwest) began to operate, replacing the ''Faro Viejo'' or old lighthouse, which was built in a lower part of the island, in an area often surrounded by mist. In 1941 Juan Flexas bought the islet and started farming activities in the Es Lladó area. By the mid 20th century, the islet was often used by ''estraperlo'' smugglers for their illegal activities. Between 1960 and 1975 the lighthouses were improved and became automatic, which meant that the only permanent and tiny population (that of the lighthouse keeper and family) left the islet. In 1974 the islet was bought by a Spanish company in order to build a touristic resort. The original plan included a luxury residential, an hotel, a casino and, to serve all these, a manmade port. These plans were heavily contested by the ecologist movements and a harsh and long legal battle followed. The ecologists managed to get all the plans on hold until the legal controversy was cleared. It only finished ten years after, in 1984, when the

Audiencia Nacional The Audiencia Nacional (; en, National Court) is a centralised court in Spain with jurisdiction over all of the Spanish territory. It is specialised in a certain scope of delinquency, having original jurisdiction over major crimes such as those ...

finally barred any building activities on the uninhabited islet. Part of the 1982 film adapting Agatha Christie's mystery '' Evil Under the Sun'' was shot in Sa Dragonera, presented as an island of the fictional Tyrania by the Adriatic. Then, in 1987, the

Consell Insular de Mallorca Consell ( or ) is a small municipality in the district of Raiguer on Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

bought the islet. In 1995 the Balearic regional Government declared the islet natural park status along with the nearby islets of

Pantaleu Es Pantaleu ( Catalan) or El Pantaleu (Spanish) is an uninhabited islet in the Balearic Islands, Spain, located just off the west coast of Majorca. It is currently a natural park, part of the natural park of its neighboring island Dragonera. It ...

and Isla Mediana.

Gallery

Blick auf die Dracheninsel 1.JPG Blick auf die Dracheninsel 2.JPG Blick auf die Dracheninsel 3.JPG Blick auf die Dracheninsel 4.JPG Blick auf die Dracheninsel 5.JPG File:Dragonera3.jpg, Dragonera as seen from the Tramuntana Range in

. File:Podarcis-lilfordi.jpg,

Endemic lizard
of Sa Dragonera
''(Podarcis lilfordi)''

File:Calalladro.jpg, Cala Lladó is the islet's tiny natural

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

References

External links

Sa Dragonera - S'Arracó

Dragonera in Google Maps
{{Authority control Landforms of Mallorca Natural parks of Spain Protected areas of the Balearic Islands Islands of the Balearic Islands Uninhabited islands of Spain