The island of Es Vedrà
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Geography | |
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Location | Balearic Sea |
Coordinates | 38°52′01″N 1°11′58″E / 38.86694°N 1.19944°ECoordinates: 38°52′01″N 1°11′58″E / 38.86694°N 1.19944°E |
Archipelago | Balearic Archipelago |
Administration | |
Autonomous Community | Balearic Islands |
Province | Ibiza |
Municipality | Sant Josep |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
Es Vedrà (Catalan pronunciation: [əz vəˈðɾa]) is a small rocky island of the south western seaboard of the Spanish island of Ibiza. The island, which is 413 metres tall, is part of the Cala d’Hort nature reserve and lies 1.5423 miles (2.4821 km) of the coast at Cala d’Hort, which is in the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia. The island is uninhabited.
Es Vedrà consists predominantly of mesozoic limestone, and contrary to the esoteric urban myth of being a special magnetic place, has no (magnetic) metal accumulations. The island we see today is as a result of a geological tumble. 155 million years ago, continuous seismic movements in the earths crust caused great shifts in the Betica Mountain Range. Eventually this caused the splitting of the range resulting in the formation of the Balearic Islands. Continued movement of the ridge which formed the islands caused portions to sheer and split away from the islands. Es Vedrà, along with the satellite island of Illa Vedranell and the Illa Tagomago, are examples of this action.
The island has no human inhabitants, although in 1855 a Carmelite Friar by the name of Francis Palau y Quer once lived here for a short time following his exile from Catalonia. The only inhabitants today are a sub-species of wild goat, which lives on the slopes and caves of the island. There is also a sub-species of the Ibizan wall lizard on the island. It is also home to a colony of the endangered bird of prey called Eleonora's falcon.