16°10′15″N61°6′55″W / 16.17083°N 61.11528°W /16.17083; -61.11528
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| Location | Petite Terre Islands,La Désirade, France |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 16°10′15″N61°06′33″W / 16.1707°N 61.1092°W /16.1707; -61.1092 |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1840 |
| Construction | brick (tower) |
| Automated | 1974 |
| Height | 33 m (108 ft) |
| Shape | Cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern atop a 1-storey keeper’s house[1][2] |
| Markings | Unpainted (tower), green (lantern) |
| Power source | solar power |
| Heritage | monument historique inscrit |
| Light | |
| Focal height | 26 m (85 ft) |
| Range | 15 nmi (28 km; 17 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl(3) W 12s |
Petite Terre Islands (French:Îles de la Petite-Terre[ildəlapətittɛʁ], literally "Islands of the Small Land") are two small uninhabited islands located about 10 km (6 mi) to the south-east of the island ofGrande-Terre (Guadeloupe), in theLesser Antilles. They are named Petite Terre ("Small Land") in contrast with the much larger Grande-Terre ("Large Land").
The two islands are Terre de Bas island to the southwest and the smaller Terre de Haut island to the northeast. Their combined land area is 1.68 km2 (168 hectares).[3] Terre de Bas island (literally "Low Land" or "Down Land") is so named because it isdownwind compared to Terre de Haut island ("Upper Land" island) to its northeast, which first meets thetrade winds blowing from the north-east in theCaribbean.
Administratively, the Petite Terre Islands are dependent on thecommune (municipality) ofLa Désirade. The two islands and 842 hectares (2,081 acres) of the sea around them were declared anature reserve, theNational Nature Reserve of Îles de la Petite-Terree.[3]
The fauna of the two islands is essentially composed ofLesser Antillean iguana with 9,500 individuals,migratory birds andsea turtles previously hunted for their eggs, their fat and theirshells. Beliefs even lend aphrodisiac virtues to the turtles' penises. The richness of the fauna is completed by a great variety of fish species and larvae protected from the swell by the lagoon and the coral reef. The island of Terre-de-Bas also hosts an endemic species of scorpion, the Oiclus.
At the same time, the flora is very abundant and, for example, the guaiac tree - a protected species that has practically disappeared from theLesser Antilles -, which was once used to makebilliard balls andpulleys, and theagave, which blooms only once in its life, are protected species. Thus, for ecological reasons, to regulate the influx of tourists and for better conservation of this fauna and flora, the islands of Petite-Terre have been classified as a nature reserve since September 1998, with an extension to the 842-hectare marine area surrounding the two islets
| Authority control databases: Petite Terre Islands |
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