:: The Island

Cocos Island, 532 km. southeast of Puntarenas, Costa Rica, is an oceanic island of volcanic origin, with a land surface of 24 square km. From a historical point of view, the most important areas are the Chatham and Wafer bays, the only feasible safe docking access on the island.

Cocos Island first appears on a world map in 1.542 as the Ysle de Coques. It was discovered in 1526 by the Spanish navigator Johan Cabeças. It is located in the central eastern area of the Pacific Ocean, facing the Gulf of Panama, in an area the Spanish called the South Sea during the exploration and colonization.

Its northern boundary is Punta Agujas, at latitude 5º 33' 26" north; the southern boundary is Cape Dampier at 5º 30' 06" north; it is bordered on the west by Cape Lionel, 87º 05' 46" west, and on the east by Cape Atrevido, at 87º 01' 47" west. The closest point on the American continent is located 532 km. southwest of Cocos Island at Cape Blanco on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. The Pinta (Abingdon) Island on the Galapagos archipelago, is located 681 km south, and Malpelo Island (Colombia) at a distance of 630 km.

Cocos Island has 23.85 sq. km. of land area and 1997 sq. km. of protected marine ecosystems. It measures 7.6 km. long by 4.4 km. wide.

The plant and animal life of Cocos Island has been primarily determined by its geographical context, as well as its geological history, climate, exposure to ocean currents and isolation from the continent. All of these factors have been responsible for the development of diverse marine and land environments, which provided the ecological conditions to develop an exceptional biological diversity or biodiversity.

Fauna: The island does not have any native or autoctonous mammals. The five mammals found on the island are rats, pigs, cats, goats and white-tail deer, all of which were introduced by humans in the recent past, either intentionally or accidentally. The wild pigs and rats constitute a real problem because of their impact on the environment and on the biological diversity. Some type of control or management is required.

Flora: The plants correspond to the diversity of plant species found in a defined area. The flora of Cocos Island is related to that on the continent, especially to Central America and northern South America. This flora arrived on the island by dispersion from visiting birds, winds, ocean currents and floating materials.

The integrity of Cocos Island is threatened by the presence of foreign species, animals and plants that were introduced accidentally or intentionally, which are seriously affecting the biodiversity. Illegal fishing is seriously compromising the fauna, the marine ecosystem and the function of the island as an area for reproduction and maintenance of marine productivity.

In this section you will find images of several antique and modern maps that have been drawn of Cocos Island.

Cocos Island is a unique and exceptional insular territory. These characteristics are determined by a series of conditions related to its geological origin, geographical location, and its character as an oceanic island, which provides a diversity of natural environments and exceptional marine and land flora and fauna.

Because of its size, isolation and state of conservation, Cocos Island constitutes one of the privileged natural sites of the world. With an important endemism and a unique biological diversity, the island can be catalogued as a natural laboratory, ideal for conducting research of the evolution of its species and for long-term monitoring of the environment.

The results of that research could provide important information about the dynamic of ecosystems on the planet and its relation to the global changes of both marine and land environments. This shows its great importance for humanity.