The archipelago is located off the coast of Morocco. Deserta Grande Island is located about 25 kilometres (16 mi) southeast of the eastern tip of Madeira Island, Ponta de São Lourenço.
Geography
Aerial view of the Desertas Islands (Ilhas Desertas)
The archipelago of the Desertas Islands is a chain of three long and narrow islands that stretch over a north/south distance of 22.3 kilometres (13.9 mi). The Desertas Islands, from north to south with approximate area figures, are:
Though near the main island of Madeira, where the islands can often be seen on the horizon, the geology of the Ilhas Desertas is starkly different. The high, long, and rocky islands of the group are barren of topsoil, and the only wildlife consists of about sixteen species of birds, including eight species of seabirds, and a scarce population of feralgoats, rabbits, and rodents, brought from Portugal by the mariners who first reached the rocky shores. The Deserta Grande wolf spider and Madeiran wall lizard also exist in the fragile and aridecosystem.
The only inhabitable island, with its own water source, is Deserta Grande. This water is murky and scarce, and historic attempts to colonise the island failed due to the impracticability of agriculture.
A tiny colony of Mediterranean monk seals inhabits the beaches, and since 1990 the islands have been constituted as a nature reserve for their protection. In 1998, the colony numbered only eight; now the population is approximately forty seals. The only humans on the islands are the permanent wardens, geologists, occasional boaters, and those who work at the few research stations.
.jpg)
