Fernando De Noronha
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Fernando de Noronha (), officially the State District of Fernando de Noronha () and formerly known as the Federal Territory of Fernando de Noronha () until 1988, is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the state of
Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...
, Brazil, and located off the Brazilian coast. It consists of 21 islands and
islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...
s, extending over an area of . Only the eponymous main island is inhabited; it has an area of and a population estimated at 3,101 in 2020. While most of the archipelago is relatively low-lying, there are parts reaching more than in elevation. The islands are administratively unique in Brazil. They form a "state district" () that is administered directly by the government of the
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of Pernambuco (despite being geographically closer to the state of Rio Grande do Norte). The state district's jurisdiction also includes the very remote Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, located northeast of Fernando de Noronha. Seventy percent of the islands' area was established in 1988 as a national marine park. In 2001,
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
designated it as a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
because of its importance as a feeding ground for tuna, sharks, sea turtles, and
marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...
s. Its
time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...
is UTC−02:00 all year round.


History


Discovery

Fernando de Noronha's occupation dates to the early 16th century. Due to its geographical position, the archipelago was one of the first lands sighted in the New World, being shown in a
nautical chart A nautical chart or hydrographic chart is a graphic representation of a sea region or water body and adjacent coasts or river bank, banks. Depending on the scale (map), scale of the chart, it may show depths of water (bathymetry) and heights of ...
in 1500 by the Spanish cartographer Juan de La Cosa, and in 1502 by the Portuguese Alberto Cantino, in the latter with the name "Quaresma". Based on the written record, Fernando de Noronha island was discovered on August 10, 1503, by a Portuguese expedition, organized and financed by a private commercial consortium headed by the Lisbon merchant Fernão de Loronha. The expedition was under the overall command of captain Gonçalo Coelho and carried the Italian adventurer Amerigo Vespucci, who wrote an account of it. The flagship of the expedition hit a reef and foundered near the island. On Coelho's orders, Vespucci anchored at the island, and spent a week there, while the rest of the Coelho fleet went on south. In his letter to Soderini, Vespucci describes the uninhabited island and reports its name as the "island of St. Lawrence" (August 10 is the feast day of St. Lawrence; it was a custom of Portuguese explorations to name locations by the
liturgical calendar The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obs ...
). The island's existence was reported to Lisbon sometime between then and January 16, 1504, when King
Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manu ...
issued a charter granting the "island of St. John" (''São João'') as a hereditary captaincy to Fernão de Loronha. As Vespucci did not return to Lisbon until June 1504, historians have hypothesized that a stray ship of the Coelho fleet, under an unknown captain, may have returned to the island to collect Vespucci, did not find him or anyone else there, and went back to Lisbon by itself with the news. Vespucci, in his letter, claims that he left the island August 18, 1503, and upon his arrival in Lisbon a year later, on June 18, 1504, the people of Lisbon were surprised, as they "had been told" that his ship had been lost. The captain who returned to Lisbon with the news of the island and Vespucci's ship's loss is unknown. Some have speculated this captain was Loronha himself, the chief financier of this expedition. This account, reconstructed from the written record, is challenged by the cartographic record. An island, named ''Quaresma'', looking very much like Fernando de Noronha island, appears in the Cantino planisphere. The Cantino map was composed by an anonymous Portuguese cartographer, and completed before November 1502, well before the Coelho expedition even set out. This has led to speculation that the island was discovered by a previous expedition. However, there is no consensus on which expedition that might have been. The name "Quaresma" means
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
, suggesting it must have been discovered in March or early April, which does not correspond well with the known expeditions. There is also a red island to the west of Quaresma in the Cantino map that does not fit with Fernando de Noronha island. Some have explained these anomalies away by reading ''quaresma'' as ''anaresma'', making the proposed Lent timing unnecessary, and proposing that the red island is just an accidental inkblot. If Quaresma is indeed Fernando de Noronha, then it is not known who discovered it. One proposal is that it was discovered by a royal Portuguese mapping expedition that was sent out in May 1501, commanded by an unknown captain (possibly André Gonçalves) and also accompanied by Amerigo Vespucci. The 1501 mapping expedition is also known as the "Third Voyage" of Amerigo Vespucci (and his first under the Portuguese flag). Vespucci relates the account of this expedition twice - first in a letter to Lorenzo Pietro Francesco di Medici, written in early 1503 (see
account
in ''Letter do Medici''), and then again in his letters to Piero Soderini, written 1504-05 ( ccountin ''Letter to Soderini''). In his account, Vespucci does not mention the name of the captain of this 1501 mapping expedition, and his identity has been widely speculated on. The 16th-century chronicler Gaspar Correia suggests that it was André Gonçalves (''Lendas da India''
p.152
. Greenlee (1945) conjectures that it might be Fernão de Loronha himself (a hypothesis also suggested by Duarte Leite (1923)). However, this is strongly disputed by other authors, e.g. Roukema (1963), who argue that it would be highly unlikely for a wealthy merchant like Loronha to personally command vessels himself. Loronha's support (if any) to the mapping expedition was probably limited to financing. According to Vespucci, this expedition returned to Lisbon in September 1502, just in time to influence the final composition of the Cantino map. However, Vespucci does not report discovering this island then, instead stating that the first time he saw the island was on the 1503 Coelho expedition. There is a letter written by Venetian emissary Pascualigo on October 12, 1502, saying that a ship arrived "from the land of Parrots" in Lisbon on July 22, 1502 (three months before Vespucci). This could be a stray ship from the mapping expedition that returned prematurely, or another expedition altogether, about which there is no information. The timing of its reputed arrival (July 1502), makes it possible that it stumbled on the island some time in March 1502, on the homeward voyage, well within Lent. A third theory is that the island had already been discovered in 1500, shortly after the discovery of Brazil by the Second India Armada under Pedro Álvares Cabral. After his brief landfall at Porto Seguro, Cabral dispatched a supply ship under either Gaspar de Lemos or André Gonçalves (sources conflict) back to Lisbon, to report the discovery. This returning supply ship would have returned north along the Brazilian coast and might have come across Fernando de Noronha island, and reported its existence in Lisbon by July 1500. However, this contradicts the Quaresma name, since the returning supply ship was sailing well after Lent. A fourth possibility is that it was discovered by the Third India Armada of João da Nova, which set out from Lisbon in March or April 1501, and returned in September 1502, also in time to influence the Cantino map. Chronicler Gaspar Correia asserts that on the outward voyage, the Third Armada made a stop on the Brazilian coast around Cape Santo Agostinho. Two other chroniclers ( João de Barros and Damião de Góis) do not mention a landfall, but do report they discovered an island (which they believe to be identified as
Ascension island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overs ...
, but this is not certain). It is thus possible that the Third Armada may have discovered Fernando de Noronha island on their outward leg. However, the timing is very tight: Easter landed on April 11, 1501, while the estimated departure date of the Third Armada from Lisbon ranges from March 5 to April 15, not leaving enough time to reach those environs within Lent. As a result of these anomalies, some modern historians have proposed that Fernando de Noronha is not depicted on the 1502 Cantino map at all. Instead, they have proposed that Quaresma island and the accompanying red "inkblot" are in fact the Rocas Atoll, slightly misplaced on the map. This reserves the discovery of Fernando de Noronha island itself as indeed on August 10, 1503, by the Gonçalo Coelho expedition, as originally reported by Vespucci. Roukema concludes that it was the Rocas Atoll that was discovered by the returning stray ship or unrecorded expedition on March 16, 1502, well within Lent. The name "São João" eventually gave way to the initially informal name of "Fernando de Noronha". A royal letter dated May 20, 1559, to descendants of the Loronha family, still refers to the island by its official name of ''ilha de São João''., but already in other places, e.g. the logbook of Martim Afonso de Sousa in the 1530s, it was referred to as the "island of Fernão de Noronha" ("Noronha" being a common misspelling of "Loronha"). The informal name eventually displaced the official name.


1500–1700

The Lisbon merchant Fernão de Loronha held not only Fernando de Noronha island as a hereditary captaincy but also (from 1503 to around 1512) a commercial monopoly on trade in Brazil. Between 1503 and 1512, Noronha's agents set up a string of warehouses (''feitorias'') along the Brazilian coast, and engaged in trade with the
indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Brazil or Native Brazilians () are the peoples who lived in Brazil before European contact around 1500 and their descendants. Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples once comprised an estimated 2,000 distric ...
for brazilwood, a native red dye wood highly valued by European clothmakers. Fernando de Noronha island was the central collection point of this network. Brazilwood, continuously harvested by the coastal Indians and delivered to the various coastal warehouses, was shipped to the central warehouse on Fernando de Noronha island, which was intermittently visited by a larger transport ship that would carry the collected loads back to Europe. After the expiration of Loronha's commercial charter in 1512, the organization of the brazilwood enterprise was taken over by the Portuguese crown, but Loronha and his descendants retained private ownership of Fernando de Noronha island itself as a hereditary
captaincy A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...
, at least down to the 1560s.


1700–1900

In July 1719, the Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts, also known as "Black Bart," was present on the island for a total of nine weeks, before heading off in search of Portuguese ships in the West Indies.


French occupation

In 1736, the French East India Company sent an expedition commanded by Captain Lesquelin, with troops and resources to colonise the island. When finding out that the French had colonised the island, the Viceroy of Brazil, the Count of Galveias, sent scouts that verified the occupation, on 26 September 1736. King John V of Portugal determined that the French troops and colonisers were expelled, dispatching a
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
on 26 May 1737 designating the Governor of Pernambuco, Henrique Luís Pereira Freire de Andrade, to comply with the resolution. At the same time, the Count of Galveias prepared an expedition with 250 soldiers, commanded by Colonel João Lobo de Lacerda, that sailed from
Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
on 6 October 1737. Lacerda successfully expelled the French without resistance and returned to Recife on 11 July 1738. Captain Henry Foster stopped at Fernando de Noronha during his scientific survey expedition as commander of HMS ''Chanticleer'', which had set out in 1828. As well as surveying coasts and ocean currents, Foster used a Kater invariable pendulum to make observations on gravity. He took the island as the point of junction of his double line of
longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...
s setting out his survey. He was given considerable assistance by the Governor of Fernando Noronha who let Foster use part of his own house for the pendulum experiments.FitzRoy, R. (1839) ''Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836'', London: Henry Colburn, pp
24–26
The longitude of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
taken by Foster was among those on one side of a significant discrepancy, which meant that the charts of South America were in doubt. To resolve this, the Admiralty instructed Captain Robert FitzRoy to command on a survey expedition. One of its essential tasks was a stop at Fernando Noronha to confirm its exact longitude, using the 22 chronometers on board the ship to give the precise time of observations. They arrived at the island in the late evening of 19 February 1832, anchoring at midnight. On 20 February FizRoy landed a small party to take the observations, despite difficulties caused by heavy surf, then sailed on for
Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
that evening. During the day, the island was visited by the naturalist
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
, who was one of the ''Beagles passengers. He took notes for his book on geology. He wrote about admiring the woods:
"The whole island is one forest, & this is so thickly intertwined that it requires great exertion to crawl along. — The scenery was very beautiful, & large Magnolias & Laurels & trees covered with delicate flowers ought to have satisfied me. — But I am sure all the grandeur of the Tropics has not yet been seen by me. — We had no gaudy birds, No humming birds. No large flowers".
His experiences on Fernando de Noronha were recorded in his journal, later published as '' The Voyage of the Beagle''. He also included a short description of the island in his 1844 '' Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle''. The island was also used as a penal colony in the 19th century.


1900–present

In the late 18th century, the first prisoners were sent to Fernando de Noronha. A prison was built. In 1897 the government of the state of Pernambuco took possession of the prison. Between 1938 and 1945, Fernando de Noronha was a political
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...
. In 1957 the prison was closed and the archipelago was visited by President
Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. Kubitschek's government plan, dubbed "50 years i ...
. However, in 1964 after a military coup, Miguel Arraes was incarcerated there for his refusal to resign as governor of Pernambuco. At the beginning of the 20th century, the British arrived to provide technical cooperation in
telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...
(''The South American Company''). Later the French came with the '' French Cable'' and the Italians with ''Italcable''. In 1942, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the archipelago was made a Federal territory, which included Rocas Atoll and Saint Peter and Paul Rocks. The government sent political and ordinary prisoners to the local prison. An airport was constructed in September 1942 by the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
Air Transport Command for the Natal-
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
air route. It provided a transoceanic link between Brazil and
French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...
for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel during the Allies campaign in Africa. Brazil transferred the airport to the jurisdiction of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
on 5 September 1944. After the end of the war, the administration of the airport was transferred back to the Brazilian Government. The geographic position of the airport averted a major air disaster on July 21, 1950. A BOAC Canadair C-4 Argonaut, with a crew of 7 and 12 passengers, en route to Natal from Dakar encountered severe engine problems which resulted, at one point, in both engines on the starboard wing being shut down. With only two functioning engines on the port wing, the reduction in power output caused the aircraft to steadily lose altitude from its normal cruising altitude of 20000 ft at a rate of 400 ft/min.A further difficulty was that the propeller on the inboard engine could not be feathered, which significantly increased aircraft drag. The crew also had to cope with a persistent fire on the same engine. As a result, the Captain ordered an SOS to be issued. The crew realised that they might not be able to reach Natal and would have to ditch in the
South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...
. Consequently, the Captain decided to divert to Fernando de Noronha, 480 miles to the southwest. En-route the crew managed to restart the outboard engine and this enabled the aircraft to maintain an altitude of 9000 ft. Although there were problems with coolant temperature on the port wing engines plus difficulties in locating the small
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
, the crew nursed the Argonaut to a safe landing at Fernando de Noronha, some four hours after their ordeal began. Nowadays, Fernando de Noronha Airport is served by daily flights from
Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
and Natal on the Brazilian coast. In 1988, Brazil designated approximately 70% of the archipelago as a maritime
national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
, with the goal of preserving the land and sea environment. On October 5, 1988, the Federal Territory was dissolved and added to the state of Pernambuco (except Rocas Atoll, which was added to the state of Rio Grande do Norte). Today Fernando de Noronha's economy depends on tourism, restricted by the limitations of its delicate
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
. In addition to the historical interest noted above, the archipelago has been the subject of the attention of various scientists dedicated to the study of its
flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
,
fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
,
geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
, etc. The jurisdiction is considered to be a separate "entity" by the DX Century Club, and so is visited rather often by
amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...
operators. In 2001, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
) declared Fernando de Noronha, with Rocas Atoll, a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. It cited the following reasons: :a) the island's importance as a feeding ground for several species, including tuna, billfish,
cetacea Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively c ...
ns,
shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
s, and marine turtles, :b) a high population of resident spinner dolphins and :c) protection for endangered species, such as the hawksbill sea turtle (critically endangered) and various birds. In 2009,
Air France Flight 447 Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications and mi ...
crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Fernando de Noronha. Rescue and recovery operations were launched from the island. Bodies and debris from the
Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body airliner developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus began developing larger A300 derivatives in the mid–1970s, giving rise to the A330 twinjet as well as the Airbus A340 quadjet, and launched both designs along ...
operating the flight were recovered within five days. All 228 people on board were killed. The crash had been caused by the flight crew's inappropriate response to inaccurate airspeed readings due to the
pitot tube A pitot tube ( ; also pitot probe) measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by French engineer Henri Pitot during his work with aqueducts and published in 1732, and modified to its modern form in 1858 by Henry Darcy. It is widely use ...
s being blocked, with the first officer (who was the pilot flying) pulling the nose up, which caused the aircraft to enter a stall and crash.


Geography


Geology

The islands of this archipelago are the visible parts of a range of submerged mountains. It consists of 21 islands, islets and rocks of volcanic origin. The main island has an area of , being long and wide at its maximum. The base of this enormous volcanic formation is below the surface. The volcanic rocks are of variable, though mainly silica-undersaturated, character with basanite, nephelinite and phonolite among the lava types found. The main island, from which the group gets its name, makes up 91% of the total area; the islands of Rata, Sela Gineta, Cabeluda and São José, together with the islets of Leão and Viúva make up the rest. The central upland of the main island is called the Quixaba.


Flora

The United Nations Environment Programme lists 15 possible
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
plant species, including species of the genera '' Capparis noronhae'' (two species), '' Ceratosanthes noronhae'' (three species), '' Cayaponia noronhae'' (two species), '' Moriordica noronhae,'' '' Cereus insularis'', '' Palicourea noronhae'', '' Guettarda noronhae'', '' Bumelia noronhae'', '' Physalis noronhae'', and '' Ficus noronhae''.


Fauna

The islands have two endemic birds: the Noronha elaenia (''Elaenia ridleyana'') and the Noronha vireo (''Vireo gracilirostris''). Both are present on the main island; the Noronha vireo is also present on Ilha Rata. In addition there is an endemic subspecies of eared dove (''Zenaida auriculata noronha''). Subfossil remains of an extinct
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
rail have also been found. The archipelago is also an important site for breeding seabirds. An endemic sigmodontine rodent ('' Noronhomys vespuccii''), mentioned by Amerigo Vespucci, is now extinct. The islands have two endemic reptiles, the Noronha wormlizard ('' Amphisbaena ridleyi'') and the Noronha skink ('' Trachylepis atlantica'').


Marine life

The life above and below sea is the main attraction of the island.
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,
cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively c ...
s (most common among these are spinner dolphins and
humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...
s, followed by many others such as pantropical spotted dolphins, short-finned pilot whales, and melon-headed whales),
albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...
es, and many other species are frequently observed.


Climate

Fernando de Noronha has a tropical wet and dry climate (''Aw/As''), with two well-defined seasons for rainfall, if not temperature. The rainy season lasts from February to July; the rest of the year sees little rain. The temperature ranges, both diurnal and monthly, are unusually slight.


Conservation and environmental threats

Most of the original large trees were cut down in the 19th century, when the island was used as a prison, for firewood and to keep the prisoners from hiding and making rafts. Also, exotic species have been introduced: * Linseed, intended for use as cattle feed. * Tegu lizards ('' Tupinambis merianae'', locally known as ''teju'') introduced in the 1950s to control a rat infestation. It did not work because Tegus are diurnal and rats, nocturnal. The lizards are now considered a plague, feeding mostly on bird eggs. * Rock cavies (''Kerodon rupestris'', locally known as ''mocó'') introduced by the military in the 1960s as hunting game for soldiers. * Domestic cats, introduced as pets, now they spread throughout the whole island and several acquired a feral status, surviving only by preying on native birds, rock cavies and synanthropic rodents. From these, the domestic cat and the tegu lizard have become invasive. The island is divided between the Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park and the Fernando de Noronha Environmental Protection Area. The latter covers the urban, tourist area.


Economy

Tourism including dolphin watching, diving, and charter
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
comprise the majority of the island's economy.


Economic indicators

The archipelago of Fernando de Noronha in 2005 had a
gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
(GDP) of R$22,802,000 and a
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
of R$10,001. In 2000, the
United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
estimated the Fernando de Noronha state district's
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
(HDI) at 0.862. The only two banking centers in the archipelago are a branch of Banco Santander Brasil and a branch of Banco Bradesco. There are one or two additional
automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, funds transfers, balance inquiries or account ...
s (ATMs) around the main island.


Tourism

The beaches of Fernando de Noronha are promoted for tourism and recreational diving. The most popular ones include Baía do Sancho, Pig Bay, Dolphins Bay, Sueste Bay and Praia do Leão. Due to the South Equatorial Current that pushes warm water from Africa to the island, diving to depths of does not require a wetsuit. The visibility underwater can reach up to . The part of the island facing the mainland has the beaches in the following order: Baía do Sancho, Baía dos Porcos, Praia da Cacimba do Padre, Praia do Bode, Praia dos Americanos, Praia do Boldró, Praia da Conceição, Praia do Meio and Praia do Cachorro. The part of the island facing the Atlantic Ocean has only three beaches: Praia do Leão, Praia do Sueste and Praia do Atalaia. A great way to get to know the island is to walk from Praia dos Americanos, pass by Praia do Boldró, Praia da Conceição, Praia do Meio and finish the walking at Praia do Cachorro. The island is served by Governador Carlos Wilson Airport with regular flights to Natal and
Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
.


Gallery

File:Map of Fernando de Noronha-en.svg, Map of the Archipelago File:Fernando de Noronha Insel Strand (22202712732).jpg, Fernando de Noronha Conceição beach File:Fernando de Noronha - Pernambuco - Brasil(3).jpg, Landscape in Fernando de Noronha File:Canhão - antiga proteção de Fernando de Noronha.jpg, Historic fortifications File:Fernando de Noronha - dois Irmãos - praia do sancho.jpg, Aerial view File:Fernando de Noronha Insel Strand (22027409470).jpg, Fernando de Noronha beach File:Fernando de Noronha - PE - Atalaia 2.jpg, Crystalline water File:Fernando de Noronha - PE - Baia do Sancho - Sub Aquatica.jpg, Underwater File:Fernando de Noronha - PE - Baia do Sancho.jpg, Sancho Bay File:Fernando de Noronha - PE - Baia dos Golfinhos.jpg, Spinner dolphins in Dolphin Bay File:Fernando de Noronha - PE - Dois Irmãos.jpg, Two Brothers Rock (''Morro Dois Irmãos'') File:Fernando de Noronha - PE- Cacimba do Padre.jpg, ''Cacimba do Padre'' File:Fernando de noronha-PE.jpg, ''Cacimba do Padre'' Beach File:Ponta da Sapata.jpg, ''Ponta da Sapata'' File:Morro Dois Irmãos - Fernando de Noronha.jpg, Two Brothers Rock File:Por do sol em Noronha.jpg, Sunset File:Fernando de Noronha Naturpool.jpg, Fernando de Noronha snorkeling File:Fernando de Noronha Strand Baia do Sancho (22027580168).jpg, Fernando de Noronha beach Sancho Bay


See also

* Noronha hotspot * Politics of Pernambuco


References


Bibliography

* Duarte Leite (1923) "O Mais antigo mapa do Brasil" in ''História da Colonização Portuguesa do Brasil'', vol.2, pp. 221–81. * Greenlee, W.B. (1945) "The Captaincy of the Second Portuguese Voyage to Brazil, 1501–1502", ''The Americas'', Vol. 2, p. 3–13. * Roukema, E. (1963) "Brazil in the Cantino Map", ''Imago Mundi'', Vol. 17, p. 7–26


External links

* *
Fernando de Noronha
Official website *
Fernando de Noronha
Much information about Fernando de Noronha (in Portuguese) Tourism *

PVV.org *
Information provided by a local resident
*
A recent Blog about Fernando de Noronha - In English
* * * (in English
Fernandodenoronha.org
Videos
Fernando de Noronha National Park

Noronha beaches and underwater

Noronha scuba diving
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando De Noronha Archipelagoes of Brazil Archipelagoes of the Atlantic Ocean Landforms of Pernambuco Protected areas of Pernambuco Ecoregions of Brazil Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Neotropical ecoregions Former subdivisions of Brazil Populated coastal places in Pernambuco World Heritage Sites in Brazil Geological type localities Islands of the South Atlantic Ocean Important Bird Areas of Brazil Important Bird Areas of Atlantic islands br:Fernando de Noronha