Culebrita Island (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Isla Culebrita,'' meaning "little snake island") is a small, uninhabited island off the eastern coast of the island-

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Culebra in the

Spanish Virgin Islands The Spanish Virgin Islands (), formerly called the Passage Islands (Spanish: ''Islas del Pasaje''), commonly known as the Puerto Rican Virgin Islands (), consist of the islands of Vieques and Culebra, situated between the main island of Puer ...

, administratively part of the archipelago of Puerto Rico and geographically part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. Together with ''Cayo Botella'' off the northwestern point, and ''Pelá'' and ''Pelaita'' to the west, Culebrita belongs to the

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

Fraile of the main island of Culebra. It is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

and is part of the

Culebra National Wildlife Refuge The Culebra National Wildlife Refuge (Spanish: ''Refugio nacional de vida silvestre de Culebra'') is a National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. It is part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which is a unit of the U.S. F ...

. The island is home to Culebrita Lighthouse, one of the oldest

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

s in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. Culebrita is only accessible by private boat from the main island of Culebra.

Geography

Culebrita is a

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

island approximately 1 mile in length and a tourist spot. It is roughly y-shaped with three branches extending from the island's center. ''Punta del Este'' is the easternmost landmass of the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. There are six beaches on Culebrita, the chief one being ''Playa Tortuga'' (Turtle Beach) on the north side of the island. The beach is named for the many

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

s that use the beach for breeding grounds and the surrounding waters for grazing. Sea turtles Tina and Ike call Playa Tortuga home. The other two large beaches are Trash Beach and West Beach. Because Trash Beach is located on the

windward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point ...

side of the island, debris is often blown onto this beach. This is how the beach gets its name. West Beach is where the

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public transport, public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an Urban area, urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a simil ...

s from

Culebra Island Isla Culebra (, ''Snake Island'') is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Vieques, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of ...

dock.

There are also large

tidal pool A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. These pools typically range from a few inches to a few feet deep and a few feet across. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only ...

s on the east side of the island where people lounge as if they were large baths. The pools trap small sea life at low tide. The west side of the island contains two

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

s. The Culebrita Reef lays off the southern coast of the island.

Wetlands

Isla Culebrita has two shallow

s, the largest of which, ''Laguna de Molino'' (Mill Lagoon), is located in northwest branch of the island. It covers approximately and is about below sea level. The second lagoon, referred to as the eastern

tidal flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

, is located near the middle of the island's west coast and covers about . Both lagoons are bordered on the seaward-side by a small mangrove fringe. These wetlands are an important habitat for some of the local wildlife.

Flora and fauna

In 2006, an environmental and cultural resource survey of Culebrita was carried out by Southeastern Archaeological Research (SEARCH) of Jonesville, Florida and Ellis Environmental Group, LC, in conjunction with the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

(USACE), Huntsville in order to identify “cultural resources, sensitive habitats, and endangered plants and animals that may exist” on Isla Culebrita. During the survey, a total of 97 plant species were recorded, none of which are state or federally threatened or endangered species. In addition, 32 birds, four reptiles, and two mammals were recorded. Of these animals, one federally endangered species, the

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 ...

(''Pelecanus occidentalis'') and one threatened species, the

white-cheeked pintail The white-cheeked pintail (''Anas bahamensis''), also known as the Bahama pintail or summer duck, is a species of dabbling duck that is spottily distributed throughout South America and the Caribbean. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in h ...

(''Anas bahamensis'') were observed. Endangered

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...

s (''Chelonia mydas'') were also observed on the island. The endangered Culebra skink live on Culebrita.

Gallery

Lighthouse on Culebrita, Culebra, Puerto Rico.jpg, Remains of the Lighthouse on Culebrita North Anchorage View From Faro Tower.JPG, North Anchorage view from Faro Tower on Culebrita Turismo en Culebrita, Barrio Fraile, Culebra, Puerto Rico.jpg, Tourists in Culebrita Culebrita Island.png, A photo taken of people snorkeling in Culebrita

References

{{Authority control Culebra, Puerto Rico Uninhabited islands of Puerto Rico