Madre de Dios Island

Madre de Dios Island
Native name: <span class="nickname" ">Isla Madre de Dios
Geography
Coordinates 50°06′10″S 75°14′38″W / 50.10278°S 75.24389°W / -50.10278; -75.24389Coordinates: 50°06′10″S 75°14′38″W / 50.10278°S 75.24389°W / -50.10278; -75.24389
Adjacent bodies of water Pacific ocean
Area 1,043 km2 (403 sq mi)
Coastline 549.5 km (341.44 mi)
Administration
Region Magallanes
Additional information
NGA UFI=-891233

Madre de Dios Island (Spanish: Isla Madre de Dios, Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaðɾe ðe ðjos]) is an island in the Magallanes Region, Chile. It is located west of the Trinidad Channel and Concepción Channel. Madre de Dios Island is composed partly of limestone and has several natural caves. In one of those caves, called the "Cave of the whales", skeletons of whales 2600 to 3500 old have been discovered 10 to 30 meters above sea level. In another cave, named Cueva del Pacifico, rock art was discovered in 2006. Many others caves near the coast were used by the indigenous Kaweskar people for burial. One skull found dates back to 4500 years ago. Some caves were used as temporary camps. Since 2008, the island has been protected as a nature reserve.

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This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.