Chão (islet)
Original title: Chão (Ilhéu)
Ilhéu Chão, the smallest and flattest of the Desertas, nearest to Ponta de São Lourenço.
The group of small islands called the Desertas (Ilhéu Chão, Deserta Grande and Bugio) lies on a north-north-west to south-south-east line with Ponta de São Lourenço (‘St Lawrence Point’), Ilhéu Chão being the one nearest to that point. ‘Ilhéu Chão,’ says Dr A. Rodrigues de Azevedo, ‘so called because it is flat, is the smallest of the three islands; it is one mile or 1852 metres long by a third of a mile or 617 metres at its greatest width; its coasts are of steep rock, but it is level and of good soil; it is separated from Ponta de São Lourenço by a channel of 11 miles or a little over 20 kilometres, through which ships of every size pass. Its greatest height is 98 metres. To the south of Ilhéu Chão lies Deserta Grande, from which it is separated by a passage or channel navigable only by small boats. To the north of Ilhéu Chão lies the small Ilhéu do Navio (‘ship islet’), also called Prego do Mar (‘sea nail’).
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Place
Places mentioned · 06- Chão · Subject
Santa Cruz · Desertas
Ilhéu Chão is the smallest and flattest of the Desertas islands, and the one nearest to Ponta de São Lourenço.
- Bugio
Santa Cruz · Desertas. Third island of the Desertas.
Bugio is the southernmost of the three Desertas islands: high (411 m), waterless and uninhabited, with good pasture and the rare plant Chrysanthemum haematomma. The Elucidário notes the Porto da Alagoa, the Ponta da Agulha, sub-fossil snail deposits on its summit and its private ownership in the nineteenth century.
- Deserta Grande
Santa Cruz · Desertas. Lies south of Ilhéu Chão across a narrow passage.
The largest island of the Desertas, 490 m high, seasonally visited by hunters, fishers and orchil gatherers. The steamer Lagos ran aground there in 1902, and it was visited by the Prince of Monaco in 1888 and by the Dana scientists. Its landing at Carga da Lapa is 21.5 miles from Funchal.
- Desertas
Santa Cruz. Island group to which Ilhéu Chão belongs.
An island group near Madeira that was already separated from it at the last eruptions and shares endemic species with it. It was the main orchil-harvesting area, and Wollaston found 89 beetle species there. The islands were investigated by scientific expeditions, including the Endurance scientists in 1914.
- Ilhéu do Navio
Santa Cruz · Desertas. Small islet north of Ilhéu Chão, also called Prego do Mar.
Small islet north of Ilhéu Chão, also called Prego do Mar.
- Ponta de São Lourenço
Machico. Headland separated from Ilhéu Chão by an 11-mile channel.
The Ponta de São Lourenço is the long, narrow eastern headland of Madeira in the parish of Caniçal, said to be named after the caravel São Lourenço, with a lighthouse on its islet. The Elucidário describes its geology, seasonal vegetation, islets, fossil calcareous bodies at Piedade, land snails and use as pasture. The steamer Forerunner sank there in 1884, and a submarine bank lies between it and the Desertas.
People
People mentioned · 01- Álvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo1825–1898
Madeiran scholar quoted describing the islet.