Beata Island, as well as Alto Velo, was discovered by Christopher Columbus during his second tour in late August 1494. So strategic is the location of these islands that Columbus visited them in three of his four trips. On his first trip, in regard to Hispaniola, Columbus was limited to border its northern coast.
In his fourth and last voyage, on August 3, 1504, Columbus Beata plays again, coming from Jamaica. Likely duration on Beata Island was between 35 and 40 days waiting for favorable winds to pass through Cape Mongó. So his letter says: "Since the Blessed, where the wind forced me back, Saturday August 3."
subsequently established a sea route to Jamaica and to the mainland, the island Beata served as a rallying point and strategic location for the ships, because it is the most southerly position of the colony. This same circumstance attracted buccaneers and pirates during the XVI and XVII to ravage the coast and sea routes of the English empire. There are many tales of as pirates "Lolonois" and Morgan had washed up on Beata Island and adjacent coasts.
The English possessions of cattle kept on the island to supply Beata maritime expeditions in the path to the new world. These cattle are kept in Cimarron way until the end of the eighteenth century. These circumstances, together with its strategic position made Beata scenario of not a few skirmishes in which ships from Santo Domingo were pirates and privateers who, having to Tortuga Island in Haiti as the primary basis, came down there to attack the Caribbean routes from the English crown.
In 1870, the State granted a concession for 50 years, Beata Island Telésforo Volta Colonel citizen and work to set salt paying to the Treasury on 5% of the profits thereof. There are still remnants of these salt; of the largest salt was mined until the 60's.
Beata Island
The island is separated from Cabo Beata (in Hispaniola) by the Canal de la Beata; this channel has at its widest point, about 7 km in the east and 8 km from its western side. The Canal de la Beata has shoals of different depths of up to 3 fathoms deep and serves as a limit to the Blessed by the North. In the southern part is separated from the island of Alto Velo by Channel Alto Velo, the distance between the two islands of about 11-12 km.
the island's terrain can be divided into three types:
Sandy. In the western part of the island there are small sandy coves. The longest beaches Blessed are the North, where strong wind blows day and night.
dogtooth limestone in ("dogtooth limestone" in English) that are heavily eroded limestone and difficult to negotiate. Reservoirs
occupied by mangroves.
limestone substrate in the karst phenomena have caused a multitude of caves, caverns and caves. An important cave bat habitat and paleontological information is stored Durán Cave Espinal. It is located about 2 km from Boca Bridge, about 40 meters high, growing to the west. Other caves and rock shelters found on the cliffs of the southern and southwestern coast of the island, but because of its difficult access have not been investigated so far.
on the island include the following vegetation:
semideciduous forest on limestone
This formation occupies a large part of the Beata Island. Characterized this type of forest to be a very dense forest, multilevel, where approximately 50% of the trees lose their leaves during the period of seasonal drought.
This type of forest grows on shallow soils of clay about 15 cm deep, covered largely by litter subject to slow decomposition according to microclimate.
semi-deciduous forest on limestone Coastal
This forest type is a variant of the former, which is distinguished by having a microclimate wetter breath due to marine and topographical conditions. Semideciduous forest
this vegetation type is distinguished by the height and thickness of the trunk of your trees. It develops in the plains between the hills, where they have been able to form deep soils with greater water retention capacity, and the action of the winds and drying is minimal. In Beata, at the foot of the cliffs of the west of the island. Dwarf Forest
Coastal
This plant formation is developed on the limestone in areas exposed to the permanent action of the winds, which blow with prevailing east-west direction from inland sea.
physiognomically presents the appearance of a dense low scrub, but many species are abundant trees in dwarf form as an adaptive response to the constant action of wind. Creeping forms predominate and pads, using vegetation cracks and fissures of the limestone to proliferate, so that it is possible to walk "over the woods" so thick and tight as offered.
This interesting biocenosis is characterized by having a permanent water stress due to the drying effects of wind disturbing exchange between plants and the atmosphere produced by sweating, so try to plant stay glued to the ground where wind speeds are lower and orient their branches and tops in the same direction. The terminal branches appear devoid of leaves and stems while trees are twisted rock crawling seeking the shelter of a crack or other accidents to protect foliage.
The coastal dwarf forest is well represented on the island of Beata, developed in a coastal strip along the coast north from Punta Beata to Punta Ocrique, and spreading to the East coast and Southeast. This training, in the vicinity of the rocky coast, presents a very stocky with coverage of 60%, barely reaching 50 cm in height and filling the crevices the rocky limestone, predominantly pillow forms. Mangrove
Present around the lakes of the Northeast coast of the island. The dominant species is Rhizophora mangle exclusive.
Coastal Forest on sandy alluvial soils
This plant formation is developed in sandy soils in proximity to the sea. Beata proliferates on the island throughout a coastal strip in the litroal West and Southwest. Near Boca Bridge zonation can be observed between the coastal forest, the semi-deciduous forest and semi-deciduous forest on limestone.
Among the animal species on the island Beata is possible to find sea turtles and rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta cornuta), whose major population is Beata. The colubrid Alsophis anomalus is the largest in the country and extremely rare, but in the Beata Island the species appears to be still common. This island is probably the last refuge for this species a very interesting group of colubrid still unknown in the West Indies. Abound, many species of waterfowl. The white-crowned pigeon (Columba leucocephala) nests on the island.
Several archaeological sites have been discovered on the island, being the best known Dumet Site, located on the northeast shore of the island, 600 m inland from the beach. The investigations were used to estimate that there had been an Indian settlement about 500 to 800 individuals.
Source: La Republica Dominicana by J. Marcano
