Patos Island (Venezuela)
Patos Island (Spanish: Isla de Patos, Duck Island) is a small uninhabited island in the northwestern Gulf of Paria. The island is a part of the Dependencias Federales (Federal Dependencies) of Venezuela.
Patos Island, as seen from the north-east | |
Patos Island Isla de Patos | |
Geography | |
---|---|
Total islands | 1 |
Administration | |
Venezuela | |
Status | Federal Dependency |
Demographics | |
Population | Uninhabited (2015) |
Geography
Patos Island is located about 540 kilometres (340 mi) northeast of Caracas in the Golfo de Paria (Gulf of Paria). The coordinates are 10°38′18″N 61°51′50″W. It lies in the Boca Grande strait of the Bocas del Dragón (Dragon's Mouth), approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) off the Paria Peninsula of mainland Venezuela and about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west-south-west of Chacachacare, which is part of Trinidad and Tobago.
The uninhabited island has an area of only 0.65 square kilometres (0.25 sq mi)[1] with a length of 1.1 kilometres (0.68 mi) and 0.6 kilometres (0.37 mi) wide with the highest point reaching about 100 metres (330 ft).[2][3][4]
History
Patos Island was part of the former British colony Trinidad and Tobago.[5]
On 26 February 1942 the island became part of Venezuela in exchange for Soldado Rock to Trinidad and Tobago[6] and was put under the administration of the Ministerio del Interior y de Justicia (Ministry of Interior and Justice)[1] as part of the Dependencias Federales.
On 9 August 1972 the island, together with the other islands of the Dependencias Federales, were declared a national park (Archipiélago Los Roques National Park) with the park being established on 18 August.[7]
See also
- Federal Dependencies of Venezuela
- List of marine molluscs of Venezuela
- List of Poriferans of Venezuela
References
- Excursión a la Isla de Patos (1964) – PDVSA-Intevep, 1997
- Vila, Marco Aurelio. 1967: Aspectos geográficos de las Dependencias Federales. Corporación Venezolana de Fomento. Caracas. 115p.
- Cervigon, Fernando. 1995: Las Dependencias Federales. Academia Nacional de la Historia. Caracas. 193p.
- Hernández Caballero, Serafín (Editor). 1998: Gran Enciclopedia de Venezuela. Editorial Globe, C.A. Caracas. 10 volúmenes. ISBN 980-6427-00-9 ISBN 980-6427-10-6
- González Oropeza, Hermann. y Donis Ríos, Manuel. 1989: Historia d elas fronteras de Venezuela. Cuadernos Lagoven. Lagoven, S.A. Caracas. 180p. ISBN 980-259-257-9
- http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1942/may/12/anglo-venezuelan-treaty-island-of-patos
- Institutio Nacional de Parques Archived 2008-04-24 at the Wayback Machine