Ilha da Queimada Grande

The name Queimada Grande comes from the old fishermen's practice of setting fire to the coastal forest to drive away the snakes before landing. At Saco do Bananal, a rocky bottom with swim-throughs and crevices, brain corals and zoanthids (Palythoa) dominate, with schools of small reef fish. Among the metal remains of the Tocantins wreck there are schools of small reef fish, juvenile groupers and many encrusting invertebrates. In early summer, thermoclines sometimes occur, layers of very cold water in a certain band of the water column. On the boat ride to the island it is common to see Bryde's whales and groups of dolphins.