Nordisquí

About

Nordisquí Key (known natively in Spanish as Cayo Nordisquí or alternatively Cayo Nordeste) is a beautiful coral island in the Caribbean Sea measuring approximately 13 hectares (0.13 square kilometers) in total surface area. The island is strictly protected by national environmental legislation because it forms an essential component of the world-famous Los Roques Archipelago National Park, situated off the northern coast of mainland Venezuela. In terms of administrative geography, this pristine key is governed under the jurisdiction of the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela as part of the diverse insular group of the Los Roques archipelago. Like many other small islets and keys scattered throughout this extensive marine sanctuary, its unique name is historically derived from early Dutch or English cartographical maps. In this specific case, the original designation came from the English descriptive phrase "North East Key" (meaning Northeast Key), which underwent gradual phonetic distortion over generations by local Spanish-speaking fishermen until it was permanently transformed into the modern current name, Cayo Nordisquí.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.