Lobos de Tierra is a
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
vian island situated 19 km from the mainland close to the
Illescas Peninsula and the boundary between the departments of
Piura
Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017.
It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro ...
and
Lambayeque regions.
[ Its area is 16 km2,]
Natural resources
In 1863 the island was estimated to have guano
Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
deposits of almost 7 million metric tons
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
,[ and today that wealth has almost disappeared and the little remaining guano does not have the same quality as before.
The climate of this island is very warm and is home to birds like ]kelp gull
The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, part ...
s, boobies
A booby is a seabird in the genus ''Sula'', part of the family Sulidae. Boobies are closely related to the gannets (''Morus''), which were formerly included in ''Sula''.
Systematics and evolution
The genus ''Sula'' was introduced by the Fren ...
( Blue-footed, Nazca
Nazca (; sometimes spelled Nasca; qu, Naska) is a city and system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru. It is also the name of the largest existing town in the Nazca Province. The name is derived from the Nazca culture, which flourished in ...
, and Peruvian
Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...
),Guanay cormorant
The Guanay cormorant or Guanay shag (''Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum'') is a member of the cormorant family found on the Pacific coast of Peru and northern Chile. (The Argentinian population on the Patagonian Atlantic coast appears to be extirpa ...
s.[ The last two species were of great importance during the heyday of guano. Lobos de Tierra Island owes its name to its proximity to the coast and the presence of otariids. At times ]blue whale
The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...
s can be seen.[Marine Ornithology - Volumes 33-34 - Page 81
2005 -
Peruvian Boobies on Lobos de Tierra are currently scarce, but their population in the middle of the last century probably exceeded 400000 individuals (Nelson I978).]
Geography
Around the island there are several islets such as El León and Albatros.
See also
* List of islands of Peru
References
External links
Geographic information on geonames.org
Uninhabited islands of Peru
Pacific islands of Peru
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