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Blanquilla is an
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 ...
, one of the Federal Dependencies
The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela () encompass most of Venezuela's offshore islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela, excluding those islands that form the states of Venezuela, State of Nueva Esparta and some Caribbean coastal ...
of Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, located in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
about 293 km (182 miles) north-east of Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
. It is a popular location for divers, as well as famous for its white sand beaches, for which it is named.
Geography
The island is formed by theAves Ridge
The Aves Ridge is a ridge in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It runs in a north-south direction, approximately 250 km west of the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc. It is mostly under water, but it reaches the surface in the north as Aves Island a ...
, a seafloor feature which protrudes above water to the north, forming several other islands. Its reefs are notable for their black coral
Antipatharians, also known as black corals or thorn corals, are an order of soft deep-water corals. These corals can be recognized by their jet-black or dark brown chitin skeletons, which are surrounded by their colored polyps (part of coral th ...
, which is used for jewelry and other crafts. The island has an area of around 64.53 km2
Environment
The island's wildlife includes localcacti
A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...
and green iguana
The green iguana (''Iguana iguana''), also known as the American iguana or the common green iguana, is a large, arboreal, mostly Herbivory, herbivorous species of lizard of the genus ''Iguana''. Usually, this animal is simply called the iguana. ...
s, as well as feral donkeys and goats
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the famil ...
. It, along with its surrounding waters, has 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 it supports significant populations of brown pelican
The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth ...
s, brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black.
In the ...
and masked boobies, and yellow-shouldered amazon
The yellow-shouldered amazon (''Amazona barbadensis''), also known as the yellow-shouldered parrot, is a parrot of the genus '' Amazona'' that is found in the arid areas of northern Venezuela, the Venezuelan islands of Margarita and La Blanquill ...
s.
History
In 2014, assertions made by the Hong Kong media that Venezuela was considering transferring ownership of Blanquilla island to China in exchange for the forgiveness of its $50 billion in debt were denied by the Chinese government.
See also
*Federal Dependencies of Venezuela
The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela () encompass most of Venezuela's offshore islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela, excluding those islands that form the State of Nueva Esparta and some Caribbean coastal islands that are i ...
*List of marine molluscs of Venezuela
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*List of Poriferans of Venezuela
The sponges of Venezuela are a part of the Porifera fauna of Venezuela (which is part of the wildlife of Venezuela).
A number of species of sponges are found in the wild in Venezuela.
This is a partial list of the marine and freshwater sponges ...
References
Federal Dependencies of Venezuela Venezuelan islands of the Leeward Antilles Important Bird Areas of Venezuela Important Bird Areas of the Caribbean {{Venezuela-geo-stub