The Pachacámac Islands (), also known as Cavillaca Islands () or as Whale Islands (), are a group of

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

s located in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, off the coast of

Lurín District Lurín is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. Known for its archaeological temple of Pachacámac, the Pachacámac Islands (or "La Ballena"), countryside areas, villages, fincas, rural restaurants, nightlife and beaches, it is one of the th ...

, in Lima Province,

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Its formed by two main islands (the 23,6 ha Pachacámac Island and the 7,05 ha Peñón Pachacámac) and three

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/ ...

s. They are located about south of the mouth of the

Lurín River The Lurín River is a long watercourse located in the Lima Region of Peru. It originates in the glaciers and lagoons of the western Andes. It is known as the Chalilla River until joining the Taquía creek where it receives its common name. Its m ...

and about 31 from the city of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. The islands have a total area of 31.20

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s and constitute the habitat of numerous species of seabirds. For this reason, in 2009 the islands were protected by law within the

Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes National Reserve System The Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes National Reserve System (; RNSIIPG) is a protected area of the Peruvian State that includes 22 islands, islets and groups of islands as well as 11 points along the Peruvian coast from Piura to Tacna. It has a ...

, a

natural reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologi ...

that protects and conserves representative samples of the biological diversity of the marine-coastal ecosystems of Peru.

Geography

The Pachacámac Islands are oriented in a northwest–southeast direction and are under the influence of the cold waters of the

Humboldt Current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and pro ...

. They are located between 12º 17' and 12º 20' S latitude and 76° 53' W longitude. The main island, which gives its name to the entire island group, is Pachacámac Island. Of regular height and whitish color, it has an area of 23.6 hectares; and has a maximum length of and a width of around . Its closest point to the coast is 2 . Towards the north of this island is La Viuda, a small

that appears when the waves and

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

end up discovering it. The Peñón Pachacámac island, also called San Francisco islet, is shaped like a

sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, ...

and is the second largest with an area of 7.05 hectares. Between the San Francisco and Pachacámac islands is the El Sauce islet, a small cliff located 265 meters from the main island. Southeast of San Francisco is the Corcovado reef, where the group ends. It is a stand of rocks on the surface of the water, which extends approximately 1 km long and in which the sea bursts. Viewed from a distance, the entire island complex resembles the silhouette of a gigantic whale emerging from the sea.

Ecosystem

The Pachacámac Islands are an important breeding site for seabirds such as red-legged and

neotropic cormorant The neotropic cormorant or olivaceous cormorant (''Nannopterum brasilianum'') is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the United States so ...

s, Peruvbian boobies and

Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos penguin. ...

s. Other birds present include

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. After breeding it spreads south to southern parts of Chile and north to Ecuador, and ...

Peruvian pelican The Peruvian pelican (''Pelecanus thagus'') is a member of the pelican family. It lives on the west coast of South America, breeding in loose colonies from about 33.5 degrees south in central Chile to Piura in northern Peru, and occurring as a ...

Inca tern The Inca tern (''Larosterna inca'') is a Near Threatened, near-threatened species of tern in the subfamily Sterninae of the family Laridae (the gulls, terns, and Rynchops, skimmers). It is found along the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coasts of Chile ...

s, Belcher's,

kelp Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...

grey Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, grey-headed and

Franklin's gull Franklin's gull (''Leucophaeus pipixcan'') is a small (length 12.6–14.2 in, 32–36 cm) gull. The genus name ''Leucophaeus'' is from Ancient Greek ''leukos'', "white", and ''phaios'', "dusky". The specific ''pipixcan'' is a Nahuatl name fo ...

turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of Sou ...

s, and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and blackish oystercatchers. The islands have been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because they support significant populations of seabirds. Two species of marine mammals have been recorded: the

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...

and

South American sea lion The South American sea lion (''Otaria flavescens'', formerly ''Otaria byronia''), also called the southern sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion, is a sea lion found on the western and southeastern coasts of South America. It is the Monotypic ta ...

. The underwater world of the Pachacámac Islands shows an impressive landscape and a lot of life, where

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

and

marine invertebrates Marine invertebrates are invertebrate animals that live in marine habitats, and make up most of the macroscopic life in the oceans. It is a polyphyletic blanket term that contains all marine animals except the marine vertebrates, including the ...

are the most representative taxonomic groups. The most abundant species of fish are represented by the silverside ('' Odontesthes regia regia''), lorna ('' Sciaena delicious''), cabinza ('' Isacia conceptionis'') and cachema (''

Cynoscion analis ''Cynoscion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family, Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found off the coasts of North and South America in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Many fishes in ...

''). Among the invertebrates are the snail ('' Thais chocolata''), jaiva crab ('' Cancer porteri'') and hairy crab ('' Cancer setosus'').

References

{{coord, 12, 18, 25, S, 76, 53, 56, W, type:isle_region:PE, display=title Pacific islands of Peru Important Bird Areas of Peru Lurín District

Geography

Ecosystem

See also

References