Tigres Island

This article is about the island in Angola. For the island in Honduras, see Tiger Island. For other uses, see Tiger Island (disambiguation).

Tigres Island (Portuguese: Ilha dos Tigres) is an island in Angola.^[3] It is situated in the Namibe Province.

Tigres Island

Native name: Ilha dos Tigres
Tigres Island
Geography
Location	Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates	16°36′S 11°41′E
Area	98 km2 (38 sq mi)
Length	20 km (12 mi)
Width	6 km (3.7 mi)
Highest elevation	30 m (100 ft)
Administration
Angola
Province	Namibe Province
Demographics
Population	uninhabited
Ponta da Marca Lighthouse
Constructed	1930s
Foundation	on piles
Construction	masonry tower (current) metal skeletal tower (first) [1]
Height	12 m (39 ft)
Shape	conical tower (current) square pyramidal skeletal tower with balcony, lantern and enclosed observatory room (first)[1][2]
Markings	white
Power source	solar power
Operator	Instituto Marítimo e Portuário de Angola
Focal height	15 m (49 ft)
Range	18 nmi (33 km; 21 mi)
Characteristic	Fl(3) W 11s

History

It is the largest island of Angola; its area is 98 km². It once had been a small peninsula in Tigres Strait known as Península dos Tigres with a well established fishing village named Saint Martin of the Tigers (in Portuguese: São Martinho dos Tigres).

The ocean broke through the isthmus of the peninsula on March 14, 1962, and the water line was severed. Tigres became an island overnight with no water supply. Later Tigres and the pump station at the Cunene river mouth were abandoned, and have become ghost towns slowly being reclaimed by the desert.^[4][5]

Ruins (2016)

See also

• List of lighthouses in Angola
• List of islands of Angola
• List of ghost towns