Fernando de Noronha

Fernando de Noronha

Fernando de Noronha (fərnänˈdo͝o dĭ no͝orôˈnyə), 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 resources on the islands are guano and salt deposits. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy. 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.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

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.

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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.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fernando de Noronha

a volcanic island in the S Atlantic northeast of Cape S?o Roque: constitutes a federal territory of Brazil; a penal colony since the 18th century; inhabited by military personnel. Area: 26 sq. km (10 sq. miles)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005