Isla de Guadalupe
- STS103-335-21
- 24 December 1999
- 23:16 UTC
The island of Guadalupe (Isla de Guadalupe) lies in the eastern Pacific, located 261 km southwest of Mexico's Cabo San Quintin on the Baja California peninsula (see panoramic image). The island is elongated in shape, measuring 33 km in length and 12 km across, with an area of 264 km². It represents the most distant offshore territory of Mexico, forming part of the state of Baja California Norte.
Guadalupe has a rugged landscape, being composed of two ancient overlapping shield volcanoes — with the northern volcano being the younger of the two. Other signs of past volcanic activity include thick lava flows and numerous cinder cones. The northern end of the island is dominated by the remnants of a collapsed volcanic crater that is bound by steep cliffs and ridges on the west and north, and by the ocean on the east. The island rises to a height if 1,100 m. In addition to the main island are the two smaller islands of Afuera and Adentro, located off the southern end of the main island.
Guadalupe was once hailed as an area of important biological diversity with numerous endemic plant and animal communities. Today however, much of the islands original and unique vegetation has been lost due to the grazing of introduced goats. The only remaining stands of original vegetation are to be found on remote ridges and cliffs. Remaining forest includes patches of Oak (Quercus tomentella) and Pine (Pinus radiata var. binata) occurring on remote northern ridges, and a small Cypress (Cupressus guadalupensis) stand found on the central plateau. Outwith these isolated areas, vegetation cover consists primarily of open scrub or is barren. The island is a Special Biosphere Reserve and efforts are underway to reverse the damage caused by over-grazing.
The east coast of the island is home to the majority of the world's population of the Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) — which earlier in the 20th Century were on the verge of extinction. The island also played an important role as a haven for the Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris), which like the Guadalupe Fur Seal, was almost hunted to extinction.
