Geography
Mona has an area of about 57 km2 (22 sq mi) and lies 66 km (41 mi) west of the main island of Puerto Rico, 61 km (38 mi) east of the Dominican Republic, and 49 km (30 mi) southwest of Desecheo Island, another island in the Mona Passage.
Mona has been designated an ecological reserve by the Puerto Rican government and is not permanently inhabited. The US census of 2000 reports six housing units, but a population of zero. The island is a ward (barrio) of the municipality of Mayagüez, together with Monito Island 5 km northwest (Isla de Mona e Islote Monito barrio). This is the largest ward of Mayagüez by area, and the only one without permanent population. The total land area of both islands in the barrio is about 56.93 km² (Mona Island 56.783 km² and nearby Monito Island 0.147 km²), and it comprises 28.3 percent of the total land area of the municipality of Mayagüez. Desecheo Island, 49 km to the northeast, is part of Sabanetas barrio.
Mona is a mainly flat plateau surrounded by sea cliffs. It is composed of dolomite and limestone with many caves found throughout. With an arid climate and untouched by human development, many endemic species inhabit the island, such as the Mona Ground Iguana (Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri). Its topography, ecology, and modern history are similar to that of Navassa Island, a small limestone island located in the Jamaica Channel, between Jamaica and Haiti.
Read more about this topic: Isla De Mona
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