Isla de Caja de Muertos, Puerto Rico
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Coordinates: 17°53′41″N 66°31′8″W / 17.89472°N 66.51889°W
 Beachgoers enjoy the beach in Caja de Muertos |
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| Geography | |
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  Isla de Caja de Muertos, Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico)
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| Coordinates | 17°53′41″N 66°31′8″W / 17.89472°N 66.51889°W |
| Area | 1.54 square kilometres (0.59 sq mi) |
| Length | 2.75 kilometres (1.71 mi) |
| Width | 860 metres (0.53 mi) |
| Country | |
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United States
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| Commonwealth |  Puerto Rico |
| Municipality | Ponce |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
| Density | 0 /km2 (0 /sq mi) |
Isla de Caja de Muertos (English: Caja de Muertos Island), or Caja de Muertos for short, is an uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico. It is located 8.4 km south of the Puerto Rican mainland and is part of La Playa[citation needed] barrio of Ponce, Puerto Rico, municipality. The island is protected by the Reserva Natural Caja de Muertos natural reserve, because of its native turtle traffic. Hikers and beachgoers are often seen in the island, which can be reached by ferry from the La Guancha Boardwalk sector of Ponce Playa.
The island is 2.75 km long northeast-southwest, and up to 860 meters wide (560 meters on the average). It has an area of 1.54 km². Close by are Morrillito Key (180 m off the southwest point, 0.04 km²) and Berbería Key (6.2 km to the northeast, 0.30 km²), both part of the Caja de Muertos Natural Reserve. Berbería Key belongs to Rio Canas Abajo barrio of Juana Diaz municipality.
The climate is dry and the island supports dry forest. A still-functioning lighthouse, Caja de Muertos Light, established in 1887 and automated in 1945, sits atop the highest hill on the island.
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[edit] Name
Though there is no consensus on how the island got its name, one story given by Kurt Pitzer and Tara Stevens is that of a Portuguese pirate, Jose Almeida.[1] A former merchant sailor, Almeida fell in love with a Basque lady in Caracao, married her in St. Thomas, and took her pirating with him around the Caribbean. On the first raid, however she was killed by a stray bullet. Distraught, Almedida had her embalmed and placed in a glass box inside a copper coffin. He buried her in a cave in a deserted island near Ponce.[2] He would come every month to gaze over her preserved body and leave half of his treasure in her grave. Almeida, however, was caught in the Puerto Rico mainland, tried, and executed in El Morro in 1832. Many years later, a Spanish engineer discovered the glass and copper coffin, and identifying the cay on a map gave it its present name.[3] The treasure found, if any, was kept secret.[4]
Another possibility is that the island got its name because it resembles someone lying down when seen from the main island. Caja de Muertos can be translated into English as "Coffin" or "Dead Man's Chest".
Other than the aforementioned meaning of the name, it has also been suggested by A. W. Van Buren of Yale University that the island's name may be related to the sea shanty "Dead man's chest", probably first written by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island. [5]
[edit] Natural reserve
The island was designated as a nature reserve in 1980 after a meeting was held in Puerto Rico by the Puerto Rico Planning Board wherein they considered the recommendation set forth by the Coastal Management Zone Program to turn the island into a protected wilderness area. The island has remained a protected area ever since.[6] The protection is mainly due to its heavy turtle traffic which is an endangered species.
[edit] References
- ^ Adventure Guide to Puerto Rico. By Kurt Pitzer and Tara Stevens.
- ^ Travel and Sports: Puerto Rico Reserva Natural Caja de Muertos.
- ^ Lighthouse Friends
- ^ Adventure Guide to Puerto Rico. By Kurt Pitzer and Tara Stevens.
- ^ Mail Bag Hints: Stevenson's "Dead Man's Chest." By A. W. Van Buren. The New York Times, June 29, 1901.
- ^ Puerto Rico.com: The Puerto Rico Channel. Visiting Caja de Muertos Island Nature Reserve.
