Editing Redonda (section)

==Description==
[[File:Antigua and Barbuda map.png|thumb|225px|left|Antigua and Barbuda map with Redonda (lower left).]]
[[File:Redonda west cliffs.JPG|thumb|225px|left|The west (leeward) coast of Redonda consists almost entirely of sheer cliffs many hundreds of feet high, 2011]]

At a distance, Redonda appears as if it were one very large rock. It is the remnant of an ancient extinct [[volcano]]. The land rises from sea level mostly as sheer cliffs, especially on the [[leeward]] (west) side. At the top of the island there is a relatively flat but tilted area of grassland which slopes to the east. There is no source of fresh water other than rain.

Judging by the name he gave the island, to [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]] the island appeared to be rounded, at least in profile. In reality the island is long and narrow, and reaches a height of almost {{convert|1,000|feet}}. The actual land area of the island is hard to estimate because of the extreme steepness of the slopes, but it is calculated to be somewhere between {{convert|1.6|km2|acre}} and {{convert|2.6|km2|acre}}.

Redonda is uninhabited. The difficult topography, the lack of a safe place to land a boat, and the absence of any freshwater source other than rainfall makes the island inhospitable to humans.

[[File:Sunny Redonda w hut.JPG|thumb|180px|A small stone hut on the top of the island dates from the days when guano was mined there.]]A herd of feral goats and thousands of rats were cleared from the island in 2017 as part of an [[island restoration]] programme.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://phys.org/news/2018-07-environmental-brighter-future-redonda-fantastic.html|title=Environmental transformation spells brighter future for Redonda's fantastic beasts|access-date=31 August 2018}}</ref>[[File:Redonda west coast detail.JPG|thumb|225px|left|A detail of the west coast shows the reddish volcanic rock cliffs and a small rock islet with a visible intertidal algal zone, 2011]]