The Desventuradas Islands, also known as Islas de los Desventurados, (Spanish: Unfortunate Islands) is a group of four small islands located 850 kilometres (530 mi) off the coast of Chile, northwest of Santiago in the Pacific Ocean. The islands together have a total land area of 4 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi).
The vegetation is a miniature mosaic of matorral, barren rock, various size trees, and shrubs mixed with ferns and perennial herbs. There are no permanent sources of fresh water on the islands. Vertebrates inhabiting both islands are exclusively limited to birds. Ten species of marine birds and one land bird species, some of them endangered, make their nests on or visit the islands.
Because of their isolation and difficulty of access, there are no human settlements on these islands, but a detachment of the Chilean Navy is stationed on Isla San Félix, which also hosts a 2,000-metre (6,600 ft) runway (ICAO code for the airfield: SCFX).
Read more about Desventuradas Islands: History, List of Islands and Location, Gallery
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