View source for Miskito Cays

{{Designation list
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Cayos Miskitos y Franja Costera Immediata
| designation1_date = 8 November 2001
| designation1_number = 1135<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cayos Miskitos y Franja Costera Immediata|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1135|accessdate=25 April 2018}}</ref>}}

[[File:Atardecer en Callos Miskitos.jpg|thumb|Sunset from the perspective of the Miskitos Cays in the Nicaraguan Caribbean Sea.|250px|right]]

The '''Miskito Cays''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: Cayos Miskitos) are an [[archipelago]] of small [[Cay|cays]] and [[Reef|reefs]] with an area of 27&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> located off [[Mosquito Coast]] in the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]] [[exclusive economic zone|exclusive economic zones]] of [[Honduras]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chollett |first=I. |last2=Stoyle |first2=G. |last3=Box |first3=S. |date=2014-03-01 |title=Honduran Miskito Cays: among the last unexplored reef systems in the Caribbean |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-013-1084-3 |journal=Coral Reefs |language=en |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=155–155 |doi=10.1007/s00338-013-1084-3 |issn=1432-0975}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-19 |title=Miskito Cays {{!}} X-Ray Mag |url=https://xray-mag.com/content/miskito-cays |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=xray-mag.com |language=en}}</ref> and [[Nicaragua]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Miskito Cays |url=https://vianica.com/go/specials/24-miskito-cays-nicaragua.html |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=vianica.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=FAU - Reed Explores Miskito Cays off Honduras |url=https://www.fau.edu/faunews/learning/reed-explores-miskito-cays-off-honduras.php |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=www.fau.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A case for redefining the boundaries of the Mesoamerican Reef Ecoregion |url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-the-MAR-indicating-the-current-ecoregional-boundary-exclusive-economic-zones_fig1_317370942 |access-date=8 October 2024 |website=ResearchGate}}</ref> They are part of the [[Gracias a Dios Department]] in Honduras and the [[North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region]] in Nicaragua. The Miskito Cays are composed of 76 formations that include [[estuaries]], [[coral reef]]s, [[cay]]s, [[seagrass]] beds, and [[islet]]s, of which 12 of the formations are covered with [[vegetation]] and consequently form [[island]]s which are lined with white sand beaches.<ref>{{cite news | title=The Miskito Cays | url =http://www.vianica.com/go/specials/24-miskito-cays-nicaragua.html | work =ViaNica | accessdate = 2007-08-03 }}</ref>

In Nicaragua, the Miskito Cay (Cayo Miskito), also known as Cayo Mayor, is the largest and most important cay located in the center of the archipelago measuring 37&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. Other main islands are Maras Cay, Nasa Cay, and Morrison Denis Cay. The Miskito Cays Biological Reserve is one of 78 [[protected areas of Nicaragua]], it was declared a [[protected area]] in 1991. The cays, along with a stretch of the adjacent mainland coast, have been designated an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]].<ref name="bli">{{cite web |url= https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/miskito-keys-and-terrestrial-landscape-iba-nicaragua|title= Miskito Keys and terrestrial landscape|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024|website= BirdLife Data Zone|publisher= BirdLife International|access-date= 2024-09-20}}</ref>

==References==
{{Portal|Islands}}
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{{Natures Reserves in Nicaragua}}
{{Nicaragua topics}}

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[[Category:Caribbean islands of Nicaragua]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Nicaragua]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Nicaragua]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of the Caribbean]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Nicaragua]]
[[Category:North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of Nicaragua]]


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