Information AboutCocos Island |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT COCOS ISLAND | |
| islands of costa rica | |
| national parks of costa rica | |
| world heritage sites in costa rica | |
| uninhabited islands | |
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Cocos Island ( located off the shore of Costa Rica . It should not be confused with the Cocos (Keeling) Islands . It is one of the National Parks Of Costa Rica . Tourists are allowed ashore only with permission of island rangers, and are not permitted to camp or sleep on the island. It is located in the Pacific Ocean , 550 km (330 mi.) from the Pacific shore of Costa Rica. Cocos Island is located at . Its area is about 24km&2 (15 sq. mi.), about 8x3 km (5x1.8 mi.), more or less in a rectangular shape. '''Cerro Iglesias''', the summit, is 671 m high and rises in the southwestern part of the island. Its perimeter is about 21 km (12½ mi.). Cocos Island and its surrounding Rocks are the only emergent islands of the Cocos Plate , one of the minor Tectonic Plates . Surrounded by deep waters with counter-currents, it is admired by Scuba divers for its populations of Hammerhead Shark s, Rays and Dolphins . HISTORY Discovery of the island and early cartography J. Lines (''Diario de Costa Rica'', May 12, 1940) cites that appeared in 1542 during the reign of Francisco I . The planisphere of Nicolás Desliens (1556, Dieppe) places this ''Ysle de Coques'' about one and half degrees north of the Equator . (See also Mario A. Boza and Rolando Mendoza, ''Los parques nacionales de Costa Rica'', Madrid, 1981.) Blaeu's ''Grand Atlas'', originally published in 1662, has a colour world map on the back of its front cover which shows ''I. de Cocos'' right on the Equator. Frederik De Witt's ''Atlas, 1680'' shows it similarly. The '' Hondius Broadside map'' of 1590 shows ''I. de Cocos'' at the latitude of 2 degrees and 30 minutes northern latitude, while in 1596 Theodore De Bry shows the Galapagos Islands near six degrees north of the Equator. E. Bowen , ''A Complete system of Geography'', Volume II (London, 1747: 586) tells that the Galapagos stretch 5 degrees north of the Equator. Robinson Crusoe is not more inaccurate than most of these sources. Robinson's neighbouring '', ''A new and Complete System of Geography'', Volume II (London, printed for J. Cooke, 1777-1778, page 448). Crusoe's two references to Mexico are against a South American island as well. World Heritage Site December 4, 1997, Cocos Island was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site . {Link without Title} 2006 Electoral Process On February 5, 2006, during the electoral process of Costa Rica, for the first time ever 33 persons living there were allowed to vote. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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