Gatas (Ponce)

Coordinates: 17°57′49″N 66°37′05″W / 17.96361°N 66.61806°W / 17.96361; -66.61806

Gatas is a small island in barrio Playa in the municipality of Ponce in southern Puerto Rico. The island is home to the Club Náutico de Ponce, a private sports complex, and it is located south of La Guancha and the Port of Ponce. Together with Caja de Muertos, Morrillito, Ratones, Cardona, Isla del Frio, and Isla de Jueyes, Gatas is one of seven islands in the municipality of Ponce.

Location and geography

While geographically it is considered an island on its own right, Gatas is actually physically attached to the Puerto Rico mainland, thanks to the construction of a dike in the 1950s. In this sense it now a cape more than an island in the strictest sense. The dyke grew the original one-acre island to the current 13 acres (0.053 square kilometers).

Gatas is located at latitude 17°57'49"N and longitude -66°37'05" (Latitude. 17.96944°, Longitude. -66.6175°) The island, located 0.2 km south of the mainland Puerto Rican shore across from Punta Penoncillo, extends 0.5 km west from Punta Caranero to the east.