__NOTOC__ Guafo Island is an island located southwest of

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island ( es, Isla de Chiloé, , ) also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern ...

and northwest of

Chonos Archipelago The Chonos Archipelago is a series of low, mountainous, elongated islands with deep bays, traces of a submerged Chilean Coast Range. Most of the islands are forested with little or no human settlement. The deep Moraleda Channel separates the isl ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. This location and the prevailing westerly winds bring frequent rainstorms to the island. Ocean currents bring an abundance of fish into this area, making it one of the most productive marine areas in the Southern Pacific Ocean. Because of this, numerous marine vertebrates such as fur seals, sea lions and penguins come to the island to feed and reproduce.

Biodiversity

Guafo Island is characterized by a high biodiversity that includes the largest breeding colony of South American fur seals ('' Arctophoca australis'') on Chilean coasts, a large population of South American sea lions ('' Otaria byronia''), and a reproductively active population of marine otters (''

Lontra felina The marine otter (''Lontra felina'') is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal of the weasel family (Mustelidae). The scientific name means "otter cat", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as : "marine cat ...

''), a critically endangered species. Recently the coasts of the island have been indicated as an important feeding area of blue whales (''

Balaenoptera musculus ''Balaenoptera'' () is a genus of rorquals containing eight extant species. ''Balaenoptera'' comprises all but two of the extant species in its family (the humpback whale and gray whale); the genus is currently polyphyletic, with the two afore ...

''), Southern right whale (''

Eubalaena australis Right whales are three species of large baleen whales of the genus ''Eubalaena'': the North Atlantic right whale (''E. glacialis''), the North Pacific right whale (''E. japonica'') and the Southern right whale (''E. australis''). They are class ...

''), humpback whales (''

Megaptera novaeangliae The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The humpb ...

'') and transient killer whales (''

Orcinus orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...

''). Among seabird highlights is the largest breeding colony of sooty shearwater (''Puffinusgriseus'') in the world (Reyes-Arriagada et al. 2007) as well as important nesting sites of Magellanic penguins ('' Spheniscus magellanicus'') and occasional sightings of Humboldt penguins ('' Spheniscus humboldti''). Historical data also shows that the Island was within the itinerary of the Beagle in 1835. Guafo Island has been considered within areas that are critical for marine conservation by the

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...

(WCS) and the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

(WWF).

Lighthouse

The lighthouse was built in 1907 by George Slight and its rotating 4-man crews who serve 4 months on station is the only permanent population in the island. The lighthouse itself is only 8 meters tall, but the light is 144 meters above the sea.

Climate

References

External links

Faro Isla Guafo, Chile
{{Authority control Islands of Chiloé Archipelago Lighthouses completed in 1907 Lighthouses in Chile South American sea lion colonies