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}} Cocos Island ((スペイン語:Isla del Coco)) is an island designated as a National Park off the shore of Costa Rica, that does not allow inhabitants other than Costa Rican Park Rangers. It constitutes the 11th〔(Isla Coco )〕 of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the province of Puntarenas.〔(GUIA DE CODIGOS TRIBUTARIOS )〕 It is located in the Pacific Ocean, approximately from the Pacific shore of Costa Rica.〔Hogue, C. and Miller, S. 1981. Entomofauna of Cocos Island, Costa Rica. Atoll Research Bulletin 250: 1–29.〕 With an area of approximately , about and a perimeter of around ,〔Montoya, M. 2007. Conozca la Isla del Coco: una guía para su visitación. In Biocursos para amantes de la naturaleza: Conozca el parque nacional Isla del Coco, la isla del tesoro (26 abril al 6 de mayo 2007). (ed. Organization for Tropical Studies). Organization for Tropical Studies. San José, Costa Rica. 35–176.〕 this island is more or less rectangular in shape. Surrounded by deep waters with counter-currents, Cocos Island is admired by scuba divers for its populations of hammerhead sharks, rays, dolphins and other large marine species.〔(Shark-counting divers off Costa Rica reveal limits of marine reserves )〕 The extremely wet climate and oceanic character give Cocos an ecological character that is not shared with either the Galápagos Archipelago or any of the other islands (e.g., Malpelo or Coiba) in this region of the world.〔Kirkendall, L. and Jordal, B. 2006. The bark and ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae, Scolytinae) of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the role of mating systems in island zoogeography. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 89(4): 729–743.〕 ==Present status and international distinctions== Cocos Island was declared a Costa Rican National Park by means of Executive Decree in 1978 . Cocos Island National Park was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. In 2002, the World Heritage Site designation was extended to include an expanded marine zone of . In addition, it is included in the list of "Wetlands of International Importance".〔(Ramsar Convention text in English )〕 In 2009 Cocos Island was short-listed as a candidate to be declared one of the New7Wonders of Nature of the world by the New7Wonders of the World Foundation, and ranked second in the islands category.〔(New 7 Wonders of the Word: Live Ranking )〕 Thanks to the breathtaking marine life in its waters (see Fauna section below), Cocos Island was named one of the best 10 scuba diving spots in the world by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and a "must do" according to diving experts.〔(World's 10 best scuba spots - Active - MSNBC.com )〕 For many, the main attractions are the large pelagic fish species, which are very abundant in this unique meeting point between deep and shallow waters. The largest schools of hammerhead sharks in the World are consistently reported there. Encounters with dozens if not hundreds of these and other large animals are nearly certain in every dive. Smaller and colorful species are also abundant in one of the most extensive and rich reefs of the south eastern Pacific.〔Guzmán, H. M. and Cortés, J. (1992). Cocos Island (Pacific of Costa Rica) coral reefs after the 2010-83 El Niño disturbance. Revista de Biología Tropical 40: 309–324.〕 The famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau visited the island several times and in 1994 called it "the most beautiful island in the world". These numerous accolades highlight the urgent need to protect Cocos Island and surrounding waters from illegal large-scale fishing, poaching and other threats. The only persons allowed to live on Cocos Island are Costa Rican Park Rangers, who have established two encampments, including one at English Bay. Tourists and ship crew members are allowed ashore only with permission of island rangers, and are not permitted to camp, stay overnight or collect any flora, fauna or minerals from the island. Occasional amateur radio DXpeditions are allowed to visit. This island is popular in pirate lore as well. It is said that over 300 expeditions have gone in search of treasure such as the hoard of Benito Bonito, the Treasure of Lima, and many others. Some incidents of small caches have been discovered, leading many to believe the stories of vast pirate treasures to be valid. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cocos Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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