Mona Island () is the third-largest island of the Puerto Rican archipelago, after the main island 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 ...

and Vieques. It is the largest of three islands in the

Mona Passage The Mona Passage () is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama Canal. The Mona Pas ...

, the strait between

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

and Puerto Rico, with the others being Monito Island and Desecheo Island. It measures about 7 miles by 4 miles (11 km by 7 km), and lies west of Puerto Rico, of which it is administratively a part. It is one of two islands that make up the Isla de Mona e Islote Monito barrio in the municipality of Mayagüez. STS007-4-137 - View of Puerto Rico

The island is managed under the Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve (''Reserva Natural Islas de Mona y Monito''). There are no permanent inhabitants; only rangers and biologists from the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources reside on the island, to manage visitors and take part in research projects. The island, along with Monito, form part of the Mona and Monito Islands

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

which recognizes and preserves the islands' ecosystem as an outstanding example of diversity and natural history. The island is home to a number of endemic species such as the Mona ground iguana and it is an important seabird area.

History

Pre-Columbian history

Mona Island is believed to have been originally settled by the

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

since the 12th century or sooner. An archeological excavation during the 1980s discovered many

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

objects on the island that helped support historians' theories of the island's first inhabitants. Stone tools found in a rock shelter have been dated to around 3000 BC. Much later the island was settled by the Taínos and remained so until the arrival of the Spanish in the 15th century.

Colonial period

On November 19, 1493, during his second voyage to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

encountered the island now known as Puerto Rico, which the natives called ''Borinquen'' (or ''Borikén''), and which Columbus named ''San Juan Bautista'' (Saint John the Baptist). Within hours of setting foot in Puerto Rico, Columbus and his ships headed west to

, where he expected to meet several crewmembers who had remained behind from his first voyage. As he left Puerto Rico, he reputedly became the first European to sight the island on September 24, 1494, which was claimed for Spain. The name ''Mona'' derives from the Taíno name ''Ámona'', bestowed by the natives in honor of the ruling ''

Cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

'' or chief of the island. In 1502, Fray

Nicolás de Ovando Frey Nicolás de Ovando (c. 1460 – 29 May 1511Some sources place his death in 1518.) was a Spanish soldier from a noble family and a Knight of the Order of Alcántara, a military order of Spain. He was Governor of the Indies in the Columbian ...

was sent to Isla de la Mona to keep an eye, from a safe distance, on the native revolts occurring in Hispaniola. With a group of 2,000 Spanish settlers, Ovando was left in charge of creating a permanent settlement on the island. Due to its small size and location, the island proved inadequate to accommodate such a large settlement, and food became scarce as shipments from Hispaniola and Puerto Rico were received infrequently. Juan Ponce de León, who accompanied Columbus on his first two voyages, became the first ruling

governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

. In 1515, after some wrangling, Ferdinand II was able to reclaim the island from Diego Colón, Viceroy of the Indies. By then, Isla de la Mona was an important point of trade between Spain and the rest of Latin America, as well as a rest stop for the crews of boats carrying slaves. With his possession of the island, King Ferdinand II gave the resident Taínos two options if they wished to continue living on the island: they could work by fishing, making

hammock A hammock, from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno language, Taíno and Arawak language, Arawak , is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swing (seat), swinging, sleeping, or Human relaxation, res ...

s and cultivating plants, or they could become miners and help in the mining of

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

and other minerals. Realizing that mining would require intense labor, the majority of inhabitants chose to work as fishermen and farmers. By accepting this option, they also were exempted from paying imposed taxes, and were able to avoid the hard labor many other natives endured in mines. In time, natives from other neighboring islands were brought to Mona Island to assist with labor. After the death of Ferdinand II in 1516, ownership of the island was transferred to Cardenal Cisneros. The island changed ownership again in 1520, when Francisco de Barrionuevo became the island's new landlord. By 1524, Alonso Manso, bishop of Puerto Rico, had become interested in gaining personal wealth, and he accused Barrionuevo, among others, of various crimes under the Spanish justice system of the time. Because of this situation, Barrionuevo exiled himself to one of Spain's colonies in South America, taking many Taínos along with him, and leaving the island practically deserted. By 1522, ships from other major sea powers such as

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

began to arrive at Isla de la Mona to replenish supplies for their transatlantic voyages. The island also provided a refuge from which they, as well as pirates, could attack and plunder Spanish galleons. In 1561, during an audience held in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, it was recommended that Isla de la Mona should become a part of that colony (which at the time occupied the entirety of Hispaniola). The reasons offered were simply that the island was closer to Santo Domingo (presently the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

) than to Puerto Rico, and that it had a small population which could help the colony's economy in overall agricultural production. However, the petition was turned down and the island continued to remain politically part of Puerto Rico. In 1583, the Spanish archbishop of Puerto Rico received royal permission to bring Christianity to Mona Island. However, by this time most Taínos remaining on the island had either died or fled to mainland Puerto Rico due to repeated raiding by European (especially French) ships. From the end of the 16th century up until the mid-19th century the island was largely abandoned by the colonial authorities. It seems to have been sporadically inhabited, although records from this period are somewhat sketchy. It continued to be used as a refuge by pirates and privateers, including the notorious

Captain Kidd William Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701), also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in Ne ...

who hid out there in 1699."Hunters Flock to Puerto Rico's Remote and Rugged Mona Island"
, ''Puerto Rico Herald'', June 18, 2003 The island's circumstances changed in the mid-19th century when it became the site of commercial guano mining operations. Various companies were granted licenses to extract the bat and seagull guano (a valuable fertilizer and key strategic commodity for the production of gunpowder) from the island's caves. Mining continued until 1927.

20th century

With the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Isla de la Mona, along with the rest of Puerto Rico, was handed to the United States by Spain. The population of Mona Isla was six at the time. Within two years of occupation, the Mona Island Light, left in an unfinished state since the beginning of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, was completed and began operation. The lighthouse was not, as commonly believed, designed by

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...

, but by the Spanish engineer Rafael Ravena in 1886. It was accessible by the Mona Island Tramway from the beach and remained in continuous operation until 1976 when it was replaced by a newer automated light near the center of the island.Kraig Anderson
''Isla de Mona Lighthouse.''
Retrieved on August 25, 2018. On December 22, 1919, the island was declared an ''Insular Forest of Puerto Rico'', under the auspices of the U.S. Forest Law No. 22. During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

the island had a history of

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

, with its geographic location making it a prime location for rum runners to smuggle rum, bourbon, and other liquor. In 1923, a stash of liquor, drugs, and perfumes, reportedly from the French islands of

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

and Saint Martin and worth US$75,000, was found in a cave by customs officials. In 1942, at the height of

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 ...

, a German U-156 submarine fired 30 shells from its deck gun at the southern coast of the island. The crew of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

vessel suspected that Camp Cofresí, a camp that the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

were using as the base of a reforestation effort, could be an unmarked military facility. There were no significant losses, but the incident was one of the few military strikes of the war 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 ...

, which was also the focus of a German/Italian campaign against Allied resource shipping. Prior to this, the Nazi

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

had sunk nineteen ships in the region including one named ''Del Plata'' in Puerto Rican waters. On June 4, 1942, the

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

MV ''C.O. Stillman'' was sunk by the German submarine southwest of Isla de Mona. From 1945 to 1955 Mona Island was leased to the U.S. Air Force as a military exercise area. Since 1941 the island has also been used for camping and hunting goats and wild boar. In 1960 a small ranger post was established to monitor the island, operated by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. In July 1972 the

Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board The Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board —Spanish: ''Junta de Calidad Ambiental de Puerto Rico'' (JCA)— is the principal environmental protection regulator in Puerto Rico. The Board is attached to the Office of the Governor of Puer ...

, because of growing interest in the development of the islands, made a full scientific assessment of Mona and Monito using a local team of volunteer scientists. A two-volume report with maps of natural and historic features was produced. It evaluated the climate, geology and mineral resources, soils, water resources, archaeology, vegetation, animals and insects, and

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the sur ...

life around the island. Shortly thereafter geotechnical and bathymetric studies were conducted by engineering firms to determine the feasibility of using Mona as a deep-water terminal for transferring oil from supertankers to smaller tankers which would continue to the mainland US; this plan was never implemented. In 1981, the Mona Island Light was listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as ''Faro de la Isla de la Mona''. On February 15, 1985, the passenger-cargo ferry ran aground on a reef on the southeastern side of Mona Island. While there were no deaths nor serious injuries, 143 passengers and 72 crew members landed on Mona Island to await rescue. The wreck of the ship was removed from the reef in 1990. In 1993, the island, inscribed as ''Isla de la Mona'', was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district consists of eight contributing buildings (including the lighthouse), nine prehistoric and historic archaeological sites (including several ceremonial ball courts or '' bateyes''), two guano industrial ruins, a roadway and a cistern.

Geography

Mona has an area of about and lies west of the main island of Puerto Rico, east of the

, and southwest of Desecheo Island, another island in the

. Mona has been designated an ecological reserve by the Puerto Rican government and is not permanently inhabited. The US census of 2000 reported six housing units, but a population of zero. The island is a

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 ...

of the

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 Mayagüez, together with Monito Island 3.1 mi (5 km) northwest ('' Isla de Mona e Islote Monito barrio''). This is the largest ward of Mayagüez by area, and the only one without permanent population. The total land area of both islands in the barrio is about 21.98 square miles (56.93 km²) (Mona Island 21.924 square miles 6.783 km²and nearby Monito Island 0.057 square miles .147 km², and it comprises 28.3 percent of the total land area of the municipality of Mayagüez. Desecheo Island, 30 mi (49 km) to the northeast, is part of Sabanetas barrio. Mona is a mainly flat plateau surrounded by sea cliffs. It is composed of dolomite and

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

with many

caves Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock ...

found throughout. With an arid

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

and untouched by human development, many

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 ...

species inhabit the island, such as the Mona ground iguana (''Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri''). Its topography, ecology, and modern history are similar to that of

Navassa Island Navassa Island (; ; , sometimes ) is an uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea. Located east of Jamaica, south of Cuba, and west of Jérémie on the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti, it is subject to an ongoing territorial dispute between Haiti and ...

, a small limestone island located in the Jamaica Channel, between

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

Caves

There are around 200 caves, including , , , , , , , , and on Isla de Mona, with thousands of examples of native art, marks and later on, graffiti.

Climate

The Isla de Mona has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(''Aw'' according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

), with a dry season and wet season and the temperature being warm year-round. The average annual mean is , an average annual high is and an average annual low is . August, the warmest month, has a mean of and an average high of , while the coolest month, January, has a mean of and an average low of , although February has a lower average low at . On July 2, 1996, the Isla de Mona recorded a temperature of , which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Puerto Rico. Isla de Mona receives of precipitation annually over 126.5 precipitation days. Due to

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

s, autumn is the wettest season, while winter is the driest. The wettest month is May, which receives of precipitation on average. October has 12.7 precipitation days on average, which is the highest of any month. January is the driest month, receiving , while April has the least precipitation days (8.3).

Land cover

Four types of land cover can be identified: * Cactus (4.35 square miles) (11.27 km²) * Highland forest (15.55 square miles) (40.28 km²) * Central Depression forest (0.57 square miles) (1.47 km²) * Coastal forest (1.46 square miles) (3.77 km²)

Beaches

Mona Island hosts a large and increasing hawksbill sea turtle ('' Eretmochelys imbricata'') rookery with over 1,500 clutches laid annually on its beaches. The island is recognized as one of the principal sites for hawksbill nesting in the Wider Caribbean and Western Atlantic region, along with Mexico (

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

beaches),

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

( Bocas del Toro), and Brazil. The only campsites are at ''Playa de Pájaros'' and ''Playa Sardinera''. In addition, Playa Uveros, Pájaros, Playa Mujeres and Playa Brava are important to visitors.

Mona Island today

The island presently serves as a retreat for Puerto Ricans and nature enthusiasts from all around the world, and has also become a popular destination for Puerto Rican Boy and Girl Scouts. Due to the islands' unique topography, ecology and location, Mona, Desecheo and Monito have been nicknamed "The

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

of the Caribbean". Scientists, ecologists, and students have visited Mona Island to explore its distinct ecosystem, which includes the endemic Mona Ground Iguana. The island is also home to many cave drawings that were left behind by the island's original inhabitants. Remains of the

mining industry can also be seen. An FAA-certified

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

that can handle small aircraft was built by the Puerto Rican government. This airport has no

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

code. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

is able to provide transportation with helicopter flights from Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla, to help with medicines and first aid equipment; they also fly whenever an emergency requiring hospitalization occurs. Private and commercial planes require a special permit issued by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources to use the airport's facilities. The most common form of transportation is by private yacht, though commercial excursions are available from Cabo Rojo for small groups of up to twelve people traveling together. Hunting is permitted in season to control the population growth of non-indigenous species (goats and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

s) because they can represent a threat to various endangered species. The hunting season usually commences in December and ends in April. Camping is allowed from May through November. In recent years, the island has become a major drop-off point especially for

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

, as well as Haitians and

Cubans Cubans () are the citizens and nationals of Cuba. The Cuban people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish. The larger Cuban diaspora includes individuals that trace ancestry to Cuba and self-identify as Cuban but are n ...

trying to reach Puerto Rico illegally. As a U.S. Commonwealth, Puerto Rico is seen by many undocumented migrants as a stepping stone to the United States, but they are usually deported immediately. Due to the island's natural and cultural importance there has been interest in seeking world heritage status for Mona as a

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 ...

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 ...

by the Puerto Rican government.

Gallery

Scenes around Isla de Mona: Mona Island cave no.3.jpg, Mona Island cave Cueva Diamante, Isla Mona, Puerto Rico.jpg, on Isla Mona Maps in the Puerto Rico 2010 Census of Population and Housing Page 136.jpg, US 2010 Census map of the two islands (Isla de Mona) and ( Monito Island) Mona-map2.png, Mona overview map Armored sea robin with brittle star near Mona Island, Puerto Rico.jpg, Armored sea robin with

brittle star Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...

References

External links

Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico – Photos and Info

Article on Cuban refugees arriving on Mona Island

* ttps://www.discoverpuertorico.com/article/exploring-mona-island Discover Puerto Rico – Mona Island {{Authority control Beaches of Puerto Rico National Register of Historic Places in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Uninhabited islands of Puerto Rico National Natural Landmarks in Puerto Rico Pirate treasure Pirate dens and locations Protected areas of Puerto Rico Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Island restoration Civilian Conservation Corps in Puerto Rico