Tigres Island (Portuguese: Ilha dos Tigres) is an island in Angola.[3] It is situated in the Namibe Province.
Native name: Ilha dos Tigres | |
---|---|
Geography | |
Location | Atlantic Ocean |
Coordinates | 16°36′S 11°41′E / 16.600°S 11.683°E |
Area | 98 km2 (38 sq mi) |
Length | 20 km (12 mi) |
Width | 6 km (3.7 mi) |
Highest elevation | 30 m (100 ft) |
Administration | |
Province | Namibe Province |
Demographics | |
Population | uninhabited |
Ponta da Marca Lighthouse | |
Constructed | 1930s |
Foundation | on piles |
Construction | masonry tower (current) metal skeletal tower (first) [1] |
Height | 12 m (39 ft) |
Shape | conical tower (current) square pyramidal skeletal tower with balcony, lantern and enclosed observatory room (first)[1][2] |
Markings | white |
Power source | solar power |
Operator | Instituto Marítimo e Portuário de Angola |
Focal height | 15 m (49 ft) |
Range | 18 nmi (33 km; 21 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl(3) W 11s |
History
editIt is the largest island of Angola; its area is 98 km2. It once had been a small peninsula in Tigres Strait known as Península dos Tigres with a well established fishing village named Saint Martin of the Tigers (in Portuguese: São Martinho dos Tigres).
The ocean broke through the isthmus of the peninsula on March 14, 1962, and the water line was severed. Tigres became an island overnight with no water supply. Later Tigres and the pump station at the Cunene river mouth were abandoned, and have become ghost towns slowly being reclaimed by the desert.[4][5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Angola". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ List of Lights, Pub. 113: The West Coasts of Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Azovskoye More (Sea of Azov) (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2016.
- ^ "Ilha dos Tigres". Mapcarta. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ "Baía dos Tigres". www.redeangola.info. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "Cool Waters". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2017-07-05.