Morrillito

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Morrillito
Isla Morrillito vista mirando al sur desde el Faro de Caja de Muerto, Ponce, PR (CIMG3887C).jpg
Isla Morrillito, looking south from the Caja de Muertos Light
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Morrillito
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Morrillito
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Morrillito
Geography
Location Ponce, Puerto Rico
Coordinates 17°52′56″N66°31′59″W / 17.88222°N 66.53306°W / 17.88222; -66.53306 Coordinates: 17°52′56″N66°31′59″W / 17.88222°N 66.53306°W / 17.88222; -66.53306
Area0.04 km2 (0.015 sq mi)
Administration
Commonwealth Puerto Rico
Municipality Ponce
Barrio Playa
Demographics
Population0
Pop. density0/km2 (0/sq mi)

Morrillito is a small uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The island is protected by the Reserva Natural Caja de Muertos natural reserve because of its native turtle traffic. [1] Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Ratones, Cardona, Isla del Frio, and Isla de Jueyes, Morrillito is one of seven islands ascribed to the municipality of Ponce. [2] [3]

Contents

Location

The island, sometimes erroneously termed a key (or, cay), is located 5.2 mi (8.4 km) south of the Puerto Rican mainland and is part of Barrio Playa [4] [5] ward of the Ponce, Puerto Rico, municipality. It is located 590 feet (180 meters) off the southwest point of Caja de Muertos island and has an area of just 0.015 square miles (0.039 km2). The island is connected to Caja de Muertos by a bank of shallow waters about 18.0 feet (5.5 meters) deep. [6] It is located at latitude 17.88417 and longitude -66.53361. [7] Its length is 0.31 miles (0.50 kilometers) northeast and southwest. [8]

Geography and climate

The island is a small 31-foot flat-topped island located 200 yards off the southwestern tip of Caja de Muertos and, when viewed from a distance, Morrillito can easily be mistaken for the 170-ft steep hill (called Cerro Morrillo, Morrillo Hill) at the extreme southwestern portion of Caja de Muertos proper. [9] [10] The climate is dry and the island supports a dry forest.

Natural reserve

Together with Caja de Muertos (0.59 square miles (1.5 km2) and Berberia Key (0.12 square miles (0.31 km2), Morrillito makes up the Caja de Muertos 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. [11] The protection is mainly due to its heavy Hawksbill sea turtle traffic which is an endangered species. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Puerto Rico–related articles</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caja de Muertos</span> Island on southern coast of Puerto Rico

Caja de Muertos is an uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, in the municipality of Ponce. The island and its surrounding waters are protected by the Caja de Muertos Nature Reserve, because of its native turtle traffic and ecological value of its dry forests and reefs. Hikers and beachgoers are often seen in the island, which can be reached by ferry from the La Guancha Boardwalk sector of Ponce Playa. Together with Cardona, Ratones, Morrillito, Isla del Frio, Gatas, and Isla de Jueyes, Caja de Muertos is one of seven islands ascribed to the municipality of Ponce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caja de Muertos Light</span> 1887 lighthouse in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Caja de Muertos Light, is an 1887 lighthouse in Ponce, Puerto Rico, that is unique amongst all other lighthouses in Puerto Rico for its unusual Cross of Lorraine, double-arm, T-type shape structure. The historic lighthouse is located in Caja de Muertos, an uninhabited island off the coast of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The light stands at the highest point of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playa, Ponce, Puerto Rico</span> Barrio of Puerto Rico

Barrio Playa, also known as Playa de Ponce, Ponce Playa, or La Playa, is one of the thirty-one barrios that comprise the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Bucaná, Canas, Vayas, and Capitanejo, Playa is one of the municipality's five coastal barrios. Barrio Playa also incorporates several islands, the largest of which is Caja de Muertos. It was founded in 1831.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anón</span> Barrio of Ponce, Puerto Rico

Anón is one of the 31 barrios in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Marueño, Coto Laurel, Guaraguao, Quebrada Limon, Real, and San Patricio, and the coastal barrios of Canas and Capitanejo, Anón is one of the municipality's nine bordering barrios. Anón borders the municipalities of Jayuya and Juana Diaz. The name of this barrio is of native Indian origin. It was founded in 1878. Barrio Anón is one of three Ponce barrios located on the Cordillera Central mountain range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montes Llanos</span> Barrio of Ponce, Puerto Rico

Montes Llanos, is one of the 31 barrios in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Magueyes, Tibes, Portugués, Maragüez, Machuelo Arriba, and Cerrillos, Montes Llanos is one of the municipality's seven rural interior barrios. It was created in 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isla del Frío</span> Uninhabited island of Puerto Rico

Isla del Frío is a small uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Morrillito, Ratones, Cardona, and Isla de Jueyes, Isla del Frío is one of seven islands ascribed to the municipality of Ponce. Like Isla de Jueyes, the island is considered part of barrio Vayas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gatas (Ponce)</span> Small island of Ponce, Puerto Rico

Gatas or, more commonly, Isla de Gatas, is a small island in barrio Playa in the municipality of Ponce in southern Puerto Rico. A tied island since the 1950s connected to the Puerto Rico mainland via a tombolo, Isla de Gatas is home to Club Náutico de Ponce, a private sports complex. It is located south of La Guancha and the Port of Ponce. Together with Caja de Muertos, Morrillito, Ratones, Cardona, Isla del Frio, and Isla de Jueyes, Gatas is one of seven islands in the municipality of Ponce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isla de Ratones (Ponce, Puerto Rico)</span> Uninhabited island of Puerto Rico

Isla de Ratones 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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isla Cardona</span> Uninhabited island of Ponce, Puerto Rico

Isla Cardona, also known as Sor Isolina Ferré Island, is a small, uninhabited island located 1.30 nautical miles south of the mainland Puerto Rican shore across from Barrio Playa, on the west side of the entrance to the harbor of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The small island is considered part of barrio Playa. It is home to the 1889 Cardona Island Light, which is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Morrillito, Ratones, Isla del Frio, and Isla de Jueyes, Cardona is one of seven islands ascribed to the municipality of Ponce. The island gained notoriety in 2010 when the Puerto Rican Bird Society made it a target for the eradication of the black rat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isla de Jueyes</span> Uninhabited islands of Puerto Rico

Isla de Jueyes are a group of three small uninhabited islands off the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Morrillito, Ratones, Cardona, and Isla del Frío, Isla de Jueyes is one of seven islands ascribed to the municipality of Ponce. At an area of just 2.89 cuerdas, they are also the smallest of these seven islands. Like Isla del Frío, the islands are considered part of barrio Vayas.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reserva Natural Punta Cucharas</span> Nature reserve in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Reserva Natural Punta Cucharas is a nature reserve in Barrio Canas, Ponce, Puerto Rico. It consists of both a land area component as well as an offshore marine area. The land component has an area of 698 cuerdas while the marine component has an expanse of 3,516 cuerdas, for a total area of 4,214 cuerdas. The Reserve consists of mangrove ecosystems, coastal sand dunes, a saline lagoon known as Laguna Las Salinas, open water, and a century-old local community. The lagoon occupies and area of 347,898 m2 Ecological protection is managed and enforced by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. Eight activities are allowed at the Reserve: scuba diving, boating, fishing, hiking, sun bathing, photography, bird watching and canoeing. Activities prohibited are: Camping, crabbing/trapping, horseback riding, water crafting, and hunting. Pets, ATVs, and fireplaces are also prohibited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahía de Ponce</span> Bay in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Bahía de Ponce is a bay in Barrio Playa, Ponce, Puerto Rico. The Bay is home to the most important commercial harbor on the Puerto Rico south coast and the second largest in Puerto Rico. The Cardona Island Light is located on the Bay to mark the way into the Bay from the nearby Caja de Muertos Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caja de Muertos Nature Reserve</span> Nature reserve in southern Puerto Rico

Caja de Muertos Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in southern Puerto Rico consisting of the islands of Caja de Muertos, Cayo Morrillito, Cayo Berbería, and their surrounding reefs and waters in the Caribbean Sea. This nature reserve was founded on January 2, 1980, by the Puerto Rico Planning Board as recommended by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources with the purpose of preserving the subtropical dry forest ecosystems found within these islands, some important sea turtle nesting sites, and the marine habitats found on their surrounding reefs and waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve</span> Two islands off western Puerto Rico

Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve consists of two islands, Mona and Monito, in the Mona Passage off western Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve encompasses both land and marine area, and with an area of 38,893 acres it is the largest protected natural area in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Much like the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Mona and Monito Islands reserve represents a living laboratory for archaeological, biological, geological, oceanographical and wildlife management research.

References

  1. La Reserva Natural Isla Caja de Muertos. Hojas de Nuestro Ambiente. Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales. Octubre 2006 - Rev. Julio 2009. P-009. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  2. 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.
  3. CityMelt. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  4. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Archived 2010-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  5. US Census. 1930 Federal Census Team Transcription. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  6. Isla Caja de Muerto Natural Reserve . Encyclopedia Puerto Rico. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  7. Isla Morrillito. Get-a-Map.net. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  8. West Indies Pilot, Volume 1. United States Hydrographic Office. Page 592. Fourth Edition: 1922.
  9. Booklet Chart: Isla Petrona to Isla Caja de Muertos. Archived 28 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine 25685 - NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  10. Isla del Frio. Mapquest. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  11. Puerto Rico.com: The Puerto Rico Channel.Visiting Caja de Muertos Island Nature Reserve.
  12. Isla Caja de Muerto Natural Reserve . Encyclopedia Puerto Rico. Retrieved 26 April 2011.