Gorgona Island

Gorgona is a Colombian island in the Pacific Ocean situated about 35 km off the Colombian Pacific coast. The island is 9 km long and 2.5 km wide, with a maximum height of 338 m and a total area of 26 km2. Gorgona is separated from the continent by a 270 m deep underwater depression.

Administratively the island is part of the Municipality of Guapí in the Department of Cauca. Gorgona functioned as a prison from 1959 until 1984 when it was turned into a National Natural Park. The island, noted for a large number of endemic species and unique ecosystems, was established as Gorgona Island National Park in 1985, in order to preserve its richly varied wildlife of the sub-tropical forest and the coral reefs offshore.