Koufonisi, Crete

Koufonisi (Greek Κουφονήσι (n. sg. ) ) Is a today uninhabited Greek island, which lies four kilometers south of the coast of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean. The island is about 2.8 kilometers long and in north-south direction up to 3 kilometers wide. It has an area of 4.26 km ². The vegetation-poor and low-lying island reaches a maximum height of only 74 meters.

The island has not always been uninhabited: There are still the ruins of about 1000 persons which is theater, public baths and other buildings obtained from the Roman period, probably they had been inhabited since the Minoan period. Otherwise Koufonisi is not spectacular, but it has some nice beaches. It will be run in the season with excursion boats from the 18 km north-west coastal town of Makrigialos südkretischen. Administratively it belongs to the municipality of Sitia.

Since Eleonora's falcon, the island was to visit every year as a nesting site, the IBA ( " Important Bird Area " ) bird sanctuary GR 196 Koufonisi Iceland ( Νήσος Κουφονήσι ) of the Birds BirdLife International reported.