This article is about an islet in the Azores. Not to be confused with Cal Islet, an islet in Madeira sometimes also called "Ilhéu de Baixo".
Baixo Islet (Portuguese: Ilhéu de Baixo; Lower Islet in English), also known locally as Ilhéu do Carapacho[1] (Carapace Islet) and historically as Ilhéu dos Homiziados[1] (Islet of the Fugitives), is a small uninhabited islet group located off the southeast coast of the island of Graciosa in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Along with Praia Islet to its north, Baixo Islet is one of two main breeding places of Monteiro's storm petrel, an endemic marine bird of the Azores.
Geography
Baixo Islet is in fact two basaltic islets, one much larger than the other. The islets are the exposed remains of a Surtseyancone composed of volcanic tuff rock, heavily eroded by the ocean and seismic activity.[1] The larger main islet is located about 700 metres (2,300 ft) southeast[1]of Ponta da Restinga (Restinga Point), which is a small peninsula of Graciosa. It measures 9 hectares (22 acres) or 0.09 square kilometres (0.035 sq mi) in area, with a highest point of 74 metres (243 ft) above sea level.[1][2]
Biome
The islet and its exposed sea cliffs provide a habitat for flowering coastal plants endemic to the Azores, some of which are endangered, including Azorean forget-me-not (Myosotis azorica), Azorean spurge or erva-leiteira (Euphorbia azorica), bracel-da-rocha fescue grass (Festuca petraea), Spergularia azorica, and vidália (Azorina vidalii).[1]
This biodiversity and abundance of endemic species led to the creation of a conservation area around the islet called the Zona Especial de Conservação do Ilhéu de Baixo e Ponta da Restinga (Baixo Islet and Restinga Point Special Conservation Zone).[1][2] The conservation zone is part of the Nature Park of Graciosa, one of the locally protected areas of the Azores. Since March 1990 the islet has been protected through the European Environment Agency's Natura 2000 initiative under the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive.[4]
History
Human access to the islet is infrequent and only possible by small boat.
Historically the islet was known as Ilhéu dos Homiziados (Islet of the Fugitives). According to Azorean chronicler Gaspar Frutuoso in his publication Saudades da Terra, the moniker derived from a possibly apocryphal 1541 occurrence. Seven young men landed on the island for recreational purposes and were trapped overnight by rough seas. Five of their friends jocularly referred to them as os homiziados (the fugitives) and endeavored to rescue them. Unfortunately, en route to the islet the rescuers' boat capsized, killing four of them.[1]
Ilhéu de Baixo as seen from Ponta da Restinga on Graciosa
References
^ abcdefghiPicanço, Carlos. "Ilhéu de Baixo". SIARAM (Sentir e Intrepretar o Ambiente dos Açores) [Feeling and Interpreting the Environment of the Azores] (in Portuguese). Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ abc"Nature Reserve of Ilhéu de Baixo". parquesnaturais.azores.gov.pt. Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Environment of the Azores. 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
