The Rosario Islands (Islas del Rosario), also referred to as Corales Islas del Rosario (Coral Islands of Rosario), is an

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 ...

located off the coast of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, approximately from Cartagena. It is one of the 46 Natural National Parks of Colombia. The

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 ...

was founded in 1988, to protect one of the most important

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s of the Colombian Caribbean coast. People can visit the national park area of the islands, and tours are available. Isla Rosario has an

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

and open-sea

oceanarium An oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as Marineland of Canada, or a large-scale Public aquarium, aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine (ocean), marine animals, especially large ocean dwe ...

(''oceanario'') that people can visit. Activities include swimming,

snorkeling Snorkeling (American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of human swimming, swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing ...

and fishing, among others.

Geography and geology

The park has an area of , from the line of the highest tide to the beryl of the of depth, it extends from the underwater platform and the coral reefs west from the Island of Barú, the reefs of the archipelagos of Nuestra Señora del Rosario and San Bernardo and the underwater platform in between, as well as the Tesoro, Rosario, Mucura, and Maravilla islands.

Characteristics

This area was declared a Natural National Park due to the necessity to preserve and protect the coral reefs and the associated

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 ...

s, such as the

sea grass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine (ocean), marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four Family (biology), families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and ...

and

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s, and the numerous species of seaweed and animals that inhabit them. Coral reef formation is "...enhanced on the windward side of the islands" due to wave action and water qualities that encourage coral growth. The islands have become popular tourist destinations for day tours as well as hotels and lodges on a few of the islands.

History

In 1985, the area was described as "extremely dangerous to approach" by boat. The Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist,

Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the "King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthie ...

, owned a huge Caribbean getaway on Isla Grande. The compound, now half-demolished and overtaken by vegetation and wild animals, featured a mansion, apartments, courtyards, a large swimming pool, a helicopter landing pad, reinforced windows, tiled floors, and a large but unfinished building to the side of the mansion.

Scuba diving

There are 28 diving sites known in this area.

References

{{Authority control National parks of Colombia Geography of Bolívar Department Caribbean islands of Colombia Underwater diving sites in the Caribbean Underwater diving sites in Colombia

Geography and geology

Characteristics

History

Scuba diving

See also

References