Brazil
No other beach in the archipelago is as long as Praia do Leão, and it also has the widest strip of sand. It owes its name to a rock in the sea that resembles a sea lion lying on its side. At low tide, reef platforms of calcareous algae, foraminifera, corals, sponges and rocks are exposed.
It is the main nesting site of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) on the island, and the females tend to nest there between December and May. A southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) was once observed on the beach in 1981. To set up the administrative headquarters of the Atol das Rocas Biological Reserve, the Territory government granted IBDF 70 ha on the beach, which also supported the work with sea turtles and migratory birds.
Of the Forte Bom Jesus do Leão, built in 1778 as a redoubt on an irregular hexagonal base almost 29 m above the shoreline, ruins and cannons remain between the Leão lookout and the stream. Nautical charts mark a shipwreck area in the Mar de Fora, between the island of Morro do Leão and Ponta das Caracas.
Information on this page, including technical data such as depth, current, visibility, access, and recommended level, is informational and may vary. Confirm actual conditions with a local operator before the dive.
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