__NOTOC__ Guafo Island is a Chilean island located southwest of

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island (, , ), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los L ...

and northwest of Chile's

Chonos Archipelago The Chonos Archipelago is a series of low, mountainous, elongated islands with deep bays, traces of a submerged Chilean Coast Range. Most of the islands are forested with little or no human settlement. The deep Moraleda Channel separates the isl ...

. This location and the prevailing westerly winds bring frequent rainstorms to the island. Ocean currents bring an abundance of fish into this area, making it one of the most productive marine areas in the Southern Pacific Ocean. Because of this, numerous marine vertebrates such as fur seals, sea lions and penguins come to the island to feed and reproduce. Guafo Island has been recently purchased (june 2025) by Rewild Organization as also reported by Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

, in order to preserve it from mining and timber logging and to ensure biodiversity preservation.

Biodiversity

Guafo Island is characterized by a high biodiversity that includes the largest breeding colony of South American fur seals ('' Arctophoca australis'') on Chilean coasts, a large population of South American sea lions ('' Otaria byronia''), and a reproductively active population of marine otters (''

Lontra felina The marine otter (''Lontra felina'') is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal of the weasel family (Mustelidae). The scientific name means "feline otter", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as : "marine ca ...

''), a critically endangered species. Recently the coasts of the island have been indicated as an important feeding area of blue whales ('' Balaenoptera musculus''), Southern right whale (''

Eubalaena australis The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20� ...

''), humpback whales (''

Megaptera novaeangliae The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hum ...

'') and transient killer whales (''

Orcinus orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its Countershading, black-and-white- ...

''). Among seabird highlights is the largest breeding colony of sooty shearwater (''Puffinusgriseus'') in the world (Reyes-Arriagada et al. 2007) as well as important nesting sites of Magellanic penguins (''

Spheniscus magellanicus The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen as ...

'') and occasional sightings of Humboldt penguins (''

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

''). Historical data also shows that the Island was within the itinerary of HMS ''Beagle'' in 1835, during the

Second voyage of HMS Beagle The second voyage of HMS ''Beagle'', from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, HMS ''Beagle'', made under her newest commander, Robert FitzRoy. FitzRoy had thought of the advantages of having someo ...

. Guafo Island has been considered within areas that are critical for marine conservation by the

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a global 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, with a mission to save "wildlife and wild places across the globe". Founded in ...

(WCS) and the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

(WWF).

Lighthouse

The lighthouse was built in 1907 by

George Slight George Henry Slight (30 September 1859 – 26 June 1934) was a Scottish engineer who established the Chilean lighthouse service. Early years Slight, the son of George Slight and Elizabeth Marshall, grew up in Edinburgh in an engineering family ...

and its rotating four-man crews who serve four months on station is the only permanent population in the island. The lighthouse itself is only 8 meters tall, but the light is 144 meters above the sea.

Climate

In popular culture

The island is also an object of a popular Internet

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

. The island gained popularity on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

after a user posted a video showing this island being for sale. Members of "Floptok", a TikTok subculture that spawned out of the

Stan Twitter Stan Twitter is a community of Twitter users who post opinions on celebrities, music, TV shows, movies, video games, social media, and other topics. It is known for using particular terminology and for incidents of harassment. Discussions in Stan ...

community, claim Guafo Island as the location of the imaginary nation of "Floptropica" and have created an extensive folklore around it. Millions of people today identify as "Floptok" citizens. There are websites, social media pages, articles and music dedicated to this internet meme.

References

External links

Faro Isla Guafo, Chile
{{Authority control Islands of Chiloé Archipelago Lighthouses completed in 1907 Lighthouses in Chile South American sea lion colonies