Ratones
Native name:
Isla de Ratones
Isla Ratones, as seen from Barrio Canas, Ponce, PR
Ratones is located in Puerto Rico
Ratones
Ratones
Ratones is located in Lesser Antilles
Ratones
Ratones
Ratones is located in Caribbean
Ratones
Ratones
Geography
LocationPonce, Puerto Rico
Coordinates17°57′18″N 66°40′53″W / 17.95500°N 66.68139°W / 17.95500; -66.68139
Area0.03 km2 (0.012 sq mi)
Administration
CommonwealthPuerto Rico
MunicipalityPonce
BarrioPlaya
Demographics
Population0

Isla de Ratones (Spanish for mice island) is a small uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, off the coast of Ponce. The island is part of barrio Canas in the municipality of Ponce.[1][2] The island gained attention in 2010 when the Puerto Rican Bird Society made it a target for the eradication of the black rat. While named as one single island, it is actually composed of two islands separated by a few feet of shallow water during high tide, which become a single island at low tide.

Location

The island, sometimes erroneously considered a key (or cay),[3] is located 0.62 mi (1.0 km) south of the mainland Puerto Rican shore across from Punta Cucharas in barrio Canas.[4][5] The island has an area of 6.94 cuerdas[6] (one cuerda equals 0.97 acres[7]) It is located at latitude 17.95500° and longitude -66.68139°.[8] The short distance from the mainland shore makes Ratones a popular landing point for aquatic events such as kayaking.[9] Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Morrillito, Cardona, Isla del Frio, and Isla de Jueyes, Ratones is one of seven islands in the municipality of Ponce.[10][11]

Geography and climate

The island is a small low island covered mostly by brushwood.[12] The climate is dry and the island supports dry forest. While named as one single island, it is actually composed of two islands separated by a few feet of shallow water during high tide, which become a single island at low time.[13][14] At low tide the size of the island increases from 6.94 cuerdas[15] (one cuerda equals 0.97 acres[16]) to 12.35 acres.[17] This low-tide size makes Isla de Ratones about 50% larger than the more prominent Cardona which, at 8.71 acres (3.52 ha), is home to the Cardona Island Light and is located 2.96 miles (4.77 kilometers) to the east.[18]

Origin of the name

The name Ratones, which translates into "mice", comes from the large number of rodents found in the island. In 2010, the Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (Puerto Rican Bird Society) and the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club launched a campaign to eradicate the black rat from the Island.[19]

Nature reserve

Though not officially a nature reserve, the island is administered by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.

References

  1. ↑ Municipios, Municipio Subdivisions, Subbarrios, and Places - Section 14. U. S. Census Bureau. Census 2000. "Puerto Rico 2000: Population and Housing Unit Counts." Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  2. ↑ Puerto Rico 2000: Population and Housing Unit Counts. U.S. Census Bureau.Publication Number PHC-3-53. Published November 2003. Page F-17. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  3. ↑ El Boricua, Puerto Rican 101, retrieved 30 April 2011.
  4. ↑ Panorama histórico forestal de Puerto Rico, Carlos Domínguez Cristóbal, p.393, retrieved 30 April 2011.
  5. ↑ West Indies Pilot, Volume 1, United States Hydrographic Office, p.599, Fourth Edition: 1922, retrieved 29 April 2011.
  6. ↑ Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce. Second Edition. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. 2002. Page 9. Printed by Impress Quality Printing, Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
  7. ↑ UnitConversion.org, retrieved 29 April 2011.
  8. ↑ Isla de Ratones, Traveling Luck, retrieved 30 April 2011.
  9. ↑ Kayaking to Cayo Ratones in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Eduardohv, retrieved 30 April 2011.
  10. ↑ Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce, Second Edition, Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, 2002, p.9. Printed by Impress Quality Printing, Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
  11. ↑ CityMelt, retrieved 30 April 2011.
  12. ↑ West Indies Pilot, Volume 1, United States Hydrographic Office, p.599, Fourth Edition: 1922, retrieved 30 April 2011.
  13. ↑ Hurricane Havens Handbook for the North Atlantic Ocean, United States Navy, retrieved 30 April 2011.
  14. ↑ Bookletchart: Bahia de Ponce and Approaches Archived 2011-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, U.S. Navy, Chart number 8, retrieved 30 April 2011.
  15. ↑ Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce, Second Edition, Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, 2002, p.9. Printed by Impress Quality Printing, Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
  16. ↑ UnitConversion.org retrieved 29 April 2011.
  17. ↑ Restauran hábitat del lagartijo del seco Anolis cooki en la Isla de Cardona y Cayo Ratones, BirdLife International, 4 August 2010, retrieved 3 May 2011.
  18. ↑ Restauran hábitat del lagartijo del seco Anolis cooki en la Isla de Cardona y Cayo Ratones, BirdLife International, 4 August 2010, retrieved 3 May 2011.
  19. ↑ Restauran hábitat del lagartijo del seco Anolis cooki en la Isla de Cardona y Cayo Ratones, 4 August 2010, retrieved 26 April 2011.
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