Gavdopoula ( el, Γαυδοπούλα, ) is an islet located north-west of its larger neighbour,
Gavdos
Gavdos ( el, Γαύδος, ) is the southernmost Greek island, located to the south of its much larger neighbour, Crete, of which it is administratively a part, in the regional unit of Chania. It forms a community with surrounding islets and was ...
, in the
Libyan Sea
The Libyan Sea ( Greek , Latin ''Libycum Mare'', Arabic البحر الليبي) is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of the African coast of ancient ''Libya'', i.e. Cyrenaica, and Marmarica
(the coast of what is now eastern Libya ...
. It is located to the south of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
, of which it is administratively a part, in the regional unit of
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
. It is part of the municipality of Gavdos, and it was part of the former
Selino Province
Selino is a historical region and a former province of Crete. It is located in the remote southwestern corner of the island, in the Chania regional unit. It is a rugged and remote area in the foothills of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) and als ...
.
Nature
Gavdopoula is covered with
phrygana (φρύγανα) low-lying shrubs. It is an important stop for
migrating birds.
Important Bird Area
Both Gavdos and Gavdopoula have been designated by
BirdLife International as an
Important Bird Area (IBA) because they support resident populations of
European shag
The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mai ...
s and
Eurasian scops owl
The Eurasian scops owl (''Otus scops''), also known as the European scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Him ...
s as well as
passage migrants.
Proposed container shipping development
In 1998 the islet was the proposed site of an enormous container shipping storage facility. Environmentalists campaigned successfully to block the development and Gavdopoula is now a protected nature reserve and notably for migrating birds.
See also
*
List of communities of Chania
*
List of islands of Greece
Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227.
The largest Greek island by ...
References
{{Cretan islands
Landforms of Chania (regional unit)
Islands of Greece
Islands of Crete
Mediterranean islands
Populated places in Chania (regional unit)
Important Bird Areas of Crete