Ilhéu das Rolas (also: ''Ilheu Gago Coutinho'') is an

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

in the African island nation of

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

. It lies on the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

, off the southern tip of

São Tomé Island São Tomé Island, at , is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six districts of São Tomé and Príncipe, districts. It is located ...

, separated by Canal das Rolas. Its maximum elevation is . Its population was 76 at the 2012 census.2012 detailed census São Tomé e Príncipe
, Instituto Nacional de Estatística It is part of the Caué District. Access to the island is only by ferry from

Ponta Baleia Ponta Baleia (Portuguese for "whale point") is a headland and a settlement in the south of Caué District on São Tomé Island in São Tomé and Príncipe. Its population is 43 (2012 census). The island is home to a small resort, the Pestana Equador.

History

The island was mentioned as "Illie de Rolle" in a 1665 map by Johannes Vingboons. and as "I. de Rolle" in a 1780 map by A. Dalrymple.1780 map of the island of São Tomé
by T. Harmar and A. Dalrymple, now at the

French National Library French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Gago Coutinho (1869–1959), officer of the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy (), also known as the Portuguese War Navy (''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'') or as the Portuguese Armada (''Armada Portuguesa''), is the navy of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Chartered in 1317 by King Dinis of Portugal, it is ...

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prim ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, headed a geodesic mission to São Tomé between 1915 and 1918, when marks were placed as a basis for a geodetic network in the archipelago. After that, observations for triangulation, precise base measurement and astronomical observations were made. In the process, Gago Coutinho proved that Ilhéu das Rolas is crossed by the equatorial line. The resulting map was published in 1919, together with the ''Report of the Geodetic Mission on São Tomé Island 1915–1918,'' that was officially considered the first complete work of practical

geodesy Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity, and Earth's rotation, spatial orientation of the Earth in Relative change, temporally varying Three-dimensional spac ...

in the Portuguese colonies.

Nature

The islet is abundant in flora and fauna. Some endemic species are Greeff's giant gecko, birds such as the São Tomé prinia and the São Tomé weaver and frogs such as '' Phrynobatrachus leveleve'' and '' Schistometopum thomense''.

Gallery

File:São Tomé - Ilhéu das Rolas - Praia de Santo António (3).jpg, Praia de ''Santo António'' File:São Tomé - Praia Café.jpg, Beach scenery in São Tomé and Príncipe File:2012SaoTome-486 (8042895924).jpg, Ilhéu das Rolas File:São Tomé (4084121766).jpg, Ilhéu das Rolas File:São Tomé - Ilhéu das Rolas - Depois da Tempestade.jpg, São Tomé and Príncipe File:2011-SaoTome-33 (8084210067).jpg, São Tomé and Príncipe File:Sao Tome Praia Inhame 24 (16063202247).jpg, Beach close to Ilhéu das Rolas, São Tomé and Príncipe File:Rolas Furnas Geysir Sao Tome e Principe.jpg, ''Furnas'', a blowhole in Rolas

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilheu das Rolas Islands of São Tomé and Príncipe Populated places in Caué District Populated coastal places in São Tomé and Príncipe Equator monuments