dĭ nrô`nyə), group of 21 islands, c.10 sq mi (26 sq km), in the Atlantic Ocean, c.225 mi (360 km) off the northeast coast of Brazil. A federal territory of Brazil from 1942 to 1988, when it was reannexed to the state of Pernambuco, it is administered as a state district and is the site of a national maritime park. The islands have been the site of a military base and a penal colony. The main resource of the islands is the guano deposits (c.1 million tons); there are salt deposits as well. Tourism has also been developed. The islands, discovered in 1503, were the first hereditary captaincy granted in Brazil by the Portuguese crown. A U.S. missile-tracking base was there from 1957 to 1962.Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha
a federal territory in Brazil, in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago. Area, 26 sq km. Population, 1,200 (1970). Vila dos Remedios is the capital. The population engages in land cultivation, stock raising, and fishing.
Fernando de Noronha
an island in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South America (3°50′ S lat., 32°25′ W long.). Area, about 18 sq km. Together with other islands, including Rata, it forms the Brazilian federal territory of Fernando de Noronha, which has an area of 26 sq km and a population of 1,200 (1970). The island is of volcanic origin. In the southeast there is a collapsed volcanic cone with a height of 321 m. The climate is subequatorial and hot, with an annual precipitation of up to 1,300 mm. Droughts occur in the spring and summer. Dry and thin forests cover the island. Vila dos Remédios, a port, is the only urban settlement.
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