Jabuka (, which means ''

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

'' in Croatian) is an uninhabited

volcanic island Geologically, a volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term high island can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

in the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, west of the

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 ...

of Vis. It is part of the Dalmatian archipelago. The closest land masses are the small islands of Svetac and Brusnik. Jabuka is the farthest from the nearest land mass out of all Croatian islands.

Flora and fauna

Its

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

is steep and difficult to approach, and landings can be made only when the

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmo ...

is clear. The easiest access is on the south-west side. On the island, noteworthy

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

such as a Dalmatian Wall Lizard and some plants (''

Centaurea ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding ...

jabukensis'' and ''Centaurea crithmifolia'', both ''

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

'') are protected endemics. In 1958 the island was declared a geological monument of nature. The surrounding sea is rich with fish, especially

sea bream Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in te ...

. However, due to remoteness, lack of safe harbour, strong currents, and sudden changes of weather, fishermen have traditionally avoided the waters around Jabuka.

Birds

Jabuka, along with Vis, Sveti Andrija and its neighbouring islet of Kamnik, Brusnik,

Biševo Biševo (, Chakavian dialect, Chakavian: Bisovo) is a Croatia, Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It is situated in the middle of the Dalmatian archipelago, 5 km south-west of the Island of Vis. Its area is and it has a population of 15 ...

and the

Palagruža Palagruža (; ) is a small Croatian archipelago in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. It is uninhabited, except by lighthouse staff and occasional summer tourists. Palagruža can be reached only by a chartered motorboat, requiring a journey of seve ...

archipelago, forms part of the Croatian Offshore Islands

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). This was designated as such 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 it supports significant breeding populations of Scopoli's and Yelkouan shearwaters, as well as of Eleonora's falcons.

Geological features

Jabuka has tall

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

s. The island is composed of

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula . It is one of the iron oxide, oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetism, ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetization, magnetized to become a ...

rocks, which cause magnetic anomalies that confuse

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

es. Due to its iron-rich rock, Jabuka is frequently struck by lightning. The area around the island is prone to earthquakes due to the Jabuka–Andrija Fault. In 2003, the island was struck by a long series of earthquakes, the largest of which was 5.5. Another series occurred in 2004–05 with a 5.2 quake. However, due to Jabuka's remoteness, these earthquakes are weakly felt on the Croatian mainland and inhabited islands.

References

Bibliography

* {{coord, 43, 05, N, 15, 27, E, display=title, region:HR_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Islets of Croatia Islands of the Adriatic Sea Landforms of Split-Dalmatia County Uninhabited islands of Croatia Important Bird Areas of Croatia Important Bird Areas of Adriatic islands Magnetic anomalies Volcanic islands