Cal Islet (, also: ''Ilhéu de Baixo'') is a small island about south of

Porto Santo Island Porto Santo Island () is a Portuguese island and municipality northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe a ...

, in the Madeira Archipelago,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. With an area of , Cal is the largest of six islets close to Porto Santo. The highest point is .Porto Santo – História
/ref> The islet has never been inhabited.

History

Cal Islet houses an important testimony to the history and culture of Porto Santo. It was once mined for lime (''cal'' in Portuguese). Its extraction led to several accidents, one of which killed sixteen workers, victims of a mine collapse. The mines are no longer active, but remnants are still intact and can be visited with a proper license and specialized escort. The construction of a cable car was planned to connect the tip of Calheta (in Porto Santo) to the islet. The project was abandoned because the large numbers of visitors would have endangered the regeneration of the islet's fragile ecosystem.

Ecological Preservation

Despite its rough appearance, this islet is home to a very rich flora, which includes the usual coastal shrubs and some traces of

laurisilva Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...

, probably due to its difficult access. It is also a breeding ground for at least four species of birds, the

Atlantic canary The Atlantic canary (''Serinus canaria''), known worldwide simply as the wild canary and also called the island canary, common canary, or canary, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus '' Serinus'' in the true finch family, Fringillid ...

, the

Berthelot's pipit Berthelot's pipit (''Anthus berthelotii'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in Madeira islands, Madeira and the Canary Islands. It is a common resident in both archipelagos. Berthelot's pipit is found in open country. The nest is on the ...

, the plain swift and the little shearwater and home to endemic land snails, '' Amphorella cimensis'' and ''

Leiostyla relevata ''Leiostyla relevata'' is a species of small air-breathing land snail in the family Lauriidae. It is endemism, endemic to Cal Islet, Ilhéu de Baixo, an islet near Porto Santo Island in the Madeira archipelago. This snail is only known from a s ...

''. For these reasons, its ecosystem is protected by the Portuguese PDM and Rede Natura 2000.

References

External links

Olhares.aeiou.pt: photo of Cal Islet—''Ilhéu da Cal''
Porto Santo Island

Cal Islet Cal Islet (, also: ''Ilhéu de Baixo'') is a small island about south of Porto Santo Island, in the Madeira, Madeira Archipelago, Portugal. With an area of , Cal is the largest of six islets close to Porto Santo. The highest point is . The isle ...

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