Island of Limacos

Island of Limacos
Native name:
Île de Rachgoun (French)
جزيرة رشقون (Arabic)
Limacos or Rachgoun Island, off the coast of Algeria
Map
Geography
Coordinates35°19′18″N 1°28′48″W / 35.32167°N 1.48000°W / 35.32167; -1.48000
Area66 ha (160 acres)
Administration
WilayahAïn Témouchent
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited
Official nameIle de Rachgoun
Designated5 June 2011
Reference no.1961[1]

The Island of Limacos or Island of Caracoles, known in Spanish in the 16th century as Risgol[2] and in French as Île de Rachgoun[3] (Arabic: جزيرة رشقون, romanized: Jazira Rashqūn) is an Algerian islet located near the North African coast. It has an area of about 66 hectares (160 acres)[4] and it is uninhabited. It is located in front of the mouth of the Tafna River, where the town of Rashgun is located. It is approximately halfway between Oran and the border between Algeria and Morocco. It was literarily described, along with other islets on the Maghreb coast, by the writer Pedro Mata as "one of those sea monsters sentinel that deflower the surface of the sea at various points" in his 1856 work Los moros del Riff o el presidiario de las Alhucemas.[5] The island has been protected as a Ramsar site since 2001.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Sheedvar Island". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  2. ^ Asteroide (1956). Sources Inedites De L'histoire Du Maroc. T. II.
  3. ^ "Carta de la Costa de España, desde Punta de Europa hasta Vera con la parte correspondiente de Africa desde Ceuta hasta Cabo Fégalo. H. 117A [Material cartográfico] / construida la costa de España con arreglo a los trabajos verificados por la Comision Hidrográfica al mando del Capitan de Fragata D. José Montojo y Salcedo, y la de Africa según las cartas francesas mas recientes ; J. Riudavets la construyó ; E. Perez la grabó; F. Serra gº la letra - Montojo y Salcedo, José - Material cartográfico impreso - 1877". bdh.bne.es. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  4. ^ "The List of Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar List)". Ramsar Convention. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  5. ^ Fontanet, Pedro Mata y; Mata, Pedro (1856). Los Moros del riff: o el presidario de las Alhucemas (in Spanish). Manini Hermanos.