Selvagem Pequena Island, Island in the Atlantic Ocean, Madeira, Portugal
Selvagem Pequena is a small, uninhabited rocky island in the Atlantic Ocean, belonging to Portugal as part of the Madeira archipelago. It sits farther south than the other islands in the Selvagens group and consists mainly of volcanic rock with steep coastlines and little plant cover.
The island was historically used as a waypoint by sailors crossing Atlantic routes and was never permanently settled. In 1971 it became one of the first protected nature reserves in Portugal, which has since kept human presence to a minimum.
Selvagem Pequena shows what a place looks like when left almost entirely to wildlife. Seabirds nest on the rocks, and the only sounds most visitors notice are the wind and the breaking waves along the shore.
Access to Selvagem Pequena is strictly controlled, and official permission is required before setting foot on the island. Most visitors arrive by boat from Madeira, and the crossing can take several hours depending on weather conditions.
Selvagem Pequena is the southernmost piece of land belonging to Portugal, sitting geographically closer to the Canary Islands than to Madeira itself. This remote position has meant that parts of the seabed around the island remain little studied even today.
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