Costa Rica’s Isla del
Coco Among New 7 Wonders
of Nature
The subject of maritime
tales, legends of
treasures buried by
pirates and even the
inspiration for
Hollywood films such as
Jurassic Park, Costa
Rica’s Isla del Coco is
inching closer to
becoming part of modern
history as one of the
New 7 Wonders of Nature.
Thirty years after it
was declared a national
park, this Pacific
Island natural treasure
is competing against 300
other ecological marvels
from all over the world
in an online contest
organized by the New 7
Wonders Foundation. As
of June 26, la Isla del
Coco was 11 on the list,
according to the website
www.new7wonders.com,
where anybody with a
valid e-mail address can
go to cast his or her
vote (those with more
than one e-mail address
can vote more than
once).
Polling will continue
until 2009, when the New
7 Wonders Foundation —
which recently held a
similar Internet
competition to select
the new seven man-made
wonders of the world,
including places such as
Mexico’s Chichen Itza
and Peru’s Machu Picchu
— will tally up the
votes and pick the 21
sites receiving the most
support.
The Isla del Coco —
which famous
oceanographer and
conservationist Jacques
Cousteau called “the
world’s most beautiful
island” — has proven to
be a strong contender.
The island’s beauties
and its fabled and
mysterious history have
made it a favorite among
nature lovers.
Additionally, there’s a
committee in the country
led by the Friends of
Isla del Coco
Foundation, whose goal
is to promote the
attributes of this
isolated ocean paradise
locally and
internationally to
obtain as much support
as possible for its
candidacy.
The final New 7 Wonders
of Nature list will be
announced in 2010.
Convinced of the
exceptional calibre of
the island’s natural
characteristics, in 1978
the government of Costa
Rica created the Isla
del Coco National Park,
which was later declared
as the core of the
marine conservation area
that bears the island’s
name. Also because of
its uniqueness, the
United Nations
Education, Science and
Culture Organization
(UNESCO) in 1997 named
the island a World
Heritage Site. One year
later, it was chosen as
a RAMSAR wetland site of
international
importance.
Moreover, on Oct. 11,
2002, the government of
Costa Rica named Isla
del Coco a Historical
Architectural Heritage
Site.
The Isla del Coco was
first put on the world
map, literally, in 1542,
as Ysle de Coques. It
was discovered in 1526
by Spanish sailor Johan
Cabeças. It is located
in the central area of
the Eastern Pacific, in
the ocean that Spaniards
called Mar del Sur
(South Sea) during the
time of discovery and
conquest, in front of
the Gulf of Panama. Its
extreme borders are: to
the north, Agujas Point,
at 5º 33'26" N; to the
south, Dampier Cape, at
5º 30'06" N; to the
west, Lionel Cape, at
87º 05'46" W; and to the
east, Atrevido Cape, at
87º 01'47" W.
On the North American
continent, the nearest
point to the Isla del
Coco is Cabo
Blanco, on Costa Rica’s
Nicoya Peninsula,
located 532 km away. In
South America, the
nearest points to the
island are Isla Pinta
(Abingdon), in the
Galapagos, 682 km away;
and Malpelo Island
(Colombia), 630 km away.
The Isla del Coco land
area is 23.85 km2, and
the area of protected
marine ecosystems
encompasses 1,997 km2.
The island is 7.6 km
long and 4.4 km wide.
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