Alto Velo Island

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Isla Alto Velo is located a small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea, south of the counting of the Greater Antilles, Hispaniola. It represents the southernmost land mass of the Dominican Republic and belongs administratively to the province of Pedernales. The island is part of the Jaragua National Park, the largest protected area in the Caribbean.

Isla Alto Velo is located 11.8 km southwest of Isla Beata on the same, to the south into the Caribbean Sea extending from the south of Hispaniola from seamounts and rises to a height of 152 m. The two islands are separated by the Canal de Alto Velo. The almost oval island has a length of 1.4 km, a width of 1.05 km and has an area of 1.02 km ². Just one kilometer north of Isla Alto Velo is the small rocky island Piedra Negra ( "Black Rock ") in the Canal de Alto Velo, with a diameter of about 200 meters.

The island was discovered in 1494 by Christopher Columbus on his second trip. The strategically important island was claimed temporarily in February 1860 by the United States under the Guano Islands Act on appeal.