Gorgona is a Colombian island in the Pacific Ocean situated about off the Colombian Pacific coast. The island is long and wide, with a maximum height of and a total area of . Gorgona is separated from the continent by a deep underwater depression. Administratively the island is part of the Municipality of Guapí in the Department of Cauca. Gorgona functioned as a prison from 1959 until 1984 when it was turned into a National Natural Park. The island, noted for its many endemic species and unique ecosystems, was established as Gorgona Island National Park in 1985, in order to preserve its richly varied wildlife of the sub-tropical forest and the coral reefs offshore. History Early settlements Gorgona was first inhabited by people possibly associated with the Tumaco-Tolita culture. The indigenous Kuna or Cuna of Urabá (Colombia) and San Blas (Panama), have the tradition of being the first settlers of the island. They left archeological remains dating back to 1300 AD. They were expert sailors and lived by farming and fishing. They also worked with stone tools and were goldsmiths. Spanish conquistadors first visited Gorgona in 1524 when it was discovered by Diego de Almagro. He named it San Felipe. Three years later, in 1527, Francisco Pizarro, in his second expedition to Peru, arrived in the island from Gallo island, running away from the indigenous group that lived there. Pizarro and thirteen of his men remained for seven months on Gorgona waiting for the arrival of provisions, preparing for a continuation of his efforts to conquer Peru. Pizarro, who considered the island an "inferno", gave it the name Gorgona after losing many of his men to bites from the great number of snakes that inhabit the island. The name refers to the mythical Gorgon, Medusa who had living venomous snakes in place of hair. Bartolome Ruiz, a Spanish boat pilot, was sent from Panama to rescue them. With Ruiz's ship as the only one at Pizarro's disposal, they all left Gorgona to conquer Peru. In the period after the Spanish Conquest, the Cacique Yundigua, lived in the island. He probably was a member of the indigenous group Sindagua, a tribe that lived between Nariño and Cauca. In 1679, the English pirate Bartholomew Sharp, after attacking Guayaquil, took over Gorgona calling it captain Sharp's island. He stayed for only a little more than a month. The island served as a refuge