Pico Desejado, near the center, high. Nearby to the northwest are Pico da Trindade () and Pico Bonifácio (). Pico Monumento, a remarkable peak in the form of a slightly inclined cylinder, rises from the west coast to . The youngest volcanism, at Vulcão do Paredão () on the southeast tip of the island, constructed a pyroclastic cone with lava flows that are no older than the Holocene (Almeida, 1961). Remnants of the crater of the cinder cone are still preserved. Lava flows traveled from the cone to the north, where they formed an irregular shoreline and offshore islands. Smaller volcanic centers of the latest volcanic stage are found in the Morro Vermelho () area in the south-central part of the island. Until 1850, the island was covered 85% of its length by a forest of Colubrina glandulosa trees, 15m in height and 40 cm trunk diameter. The introduction of non-native animals like goats, pigs, sheep, etc. and the indiscriminate cutting of trees led to total extirpation of the same, causing heavy erosion throughout the island with a loss of about 1 to 2 meter of fertile soils. The effect of this devastation impaired the flow of water streams, with the depletion of several springs. There is a small settlement in the north on the shore of a cove called Enseada dos Portugueses, supporting a garrison of the Brazilian Navy, 32 strong. The archipelago is the main nesting site of the green sea turtle in Brazil. There are also large numbers of breeding seabirds, including the endemic subspecies of the Great frigatebird (Fregata minor nicolli) and Lesser frigatebird (F. ariel trinitatis), and it is the only Atlantic breeding site for the Trindade petrel. Humpback whales have been confirmed to use the Trindade island as a nursery. History 16th to 18th century The Trindade and Martim Vaz Islands were discovered in 1502 by Portuguese navigators led by Estêvão da Gama, and along with Brazil, became part of the Portuguese Empire. Many visitors have been to Martim Vaz, the most famous of whom was the English astronomer Edmund Halley, who took possession of the island on behalf of the British Monarchy in 1700. Wild goats and hogs, descendants of ones set free by Halley, were still found on Martim Vaz in 1939. , a 198-ton, 12-gun cutter-rigged sloop, was wrecked on Trindade on 21 October 1781, shortly after Commander Philippe d'Auvergne had