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Rocas Atoll

Atoll in the Atlantic

Field	Value
name	Rocas Atoll
image_name	Atol das Rocas.jpg
map_image	Location Rocas Atoll.png
native_name_link	Portuguese language
location	Atlantic Ocean
coordinates
archipelago	Atol das Rocas
total_islands	2
major_islands	Farol; Cemitério
area_km2	0.36
country	Brazil
country_admin_divisions_title	Region
country_admin_divisions	Northeast
country_admin_divisions_title_1	State
country_admin_divisions_1	Rio Grande do Norte
population	Uninhabited
module	{{designation list	embed=yes
designation1	WHS
designation1_offname	Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves
designation1_date	2001 (25th session)
designation1_type	Natural
designation1_criteria	vii, ix, x
designation1_number	[1000](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1000)
designation1_free1name	Region
designation1_free1value	Latin America and the Caribbean

The Rocas Atoll ( ) is the only atoll in the South Atlantic Ocean. It belongs to the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Norte. It is located approximately 260 km northeast of Natal and 145 km west of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago. The atoll is of volcanic origin and coralline formation.

Description

The oval atoll is 3.7 km long and 2.5 km wide. The lagoon is up to 6 m deep and has an area of 7.1 km2. The land area of the two islets (Cemitério Island, southwest and Farol Cay, northwest) is 0.36 km2. Farol Cay accounts for almost two-thirds of the aggregate area. The highest point is a sand dune in the south of larger Farol Cay, with a height of 6 m. Both islets are overgrown with grasses, bushes and a few palm trees. The population consists of crabs, spiders, scorpions, sand fleas, beetles, large roaches, and many species of birds.

There is a lighthouse of the Brazilian Navy that has been in operation and maintained since the 1960s, at the Northern end of Farol Bay. In its vicinity is a derelict lighthouse from 1933.

The atoll is a wildlife sanctuary, and in 2001 was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site because of its importance as a feeding ground for marine life. Numerous turtles, sharks, dolphins and birds live in the area. The atoll consists mainly of coral and red algae. The coral ring is almost closed, with a 200 m wide channel on the north side and a much narrower channel on the west side.

The atoll and surrounding waters are contained in the Atol das Rocas Biological Reserve. The reserve it is currently used solely for scientific research. Due to their remote location, the islands remain largely undisturbed by human activities. On the other hand, the remoteness also limits researchers' access to the islands and few studies have been developed on this atoll. The entomological fauna from Atol das Rocas have been recorded.

References

Amado-Filho, G. M.. (2012-09-17). "IV International Rhodolith Workshop". Universidad de Granada, Facultad de Ciencias.
Almeida CE, Marchon-Silva V V, Ribeiro R, Serpa-Filho A, Almeida JR, Costa J. 2000. Entomological fauna from Reserva Biológica do Atol das Rocas, RN, Brazil: I. Morphospecies composition. Rev Bras Biol. 60(2):291-298.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

atolls-of-brazil islands-of-the-south-atlantic-ocean landforms-of-rio-grande-do-norte environment-of-rio-grande-do-norte uninhabited-islands-of-brazil world-heritage-sites-in-brazil

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