Ilhéu Chão

Ilhéu Chão is a small islet within the Desertas Islands, a small chain of islands which are in turn within the Madeira archipelago. Chão is located to the southeast of Madeira Island.

The island is approximately 1.5 km long by 480 m wide. It has steep cliffs at the shore line and a very flat top formed by lava flows. The average height of the plateau is 100 metres. A narrow channel, 500 metres, separates it from Deserta Grande Island.

There is no fresh water on the island. Attempts to dry farm the island were unsuccessful. There are two structure on the island, a fourteen metre tall lighthouse on the northern end, and a one story building about 600 metres south of it.

Ecology
There are no rabbits on Ilhéu Chão, unlike Madeira Island and Deserta Grande Island. Two dominant plant species, the succulent Mesembryanthemum crystallinum and the alkali seepweed Suaeda vera, are left over from cultivation in the nineteenth century where they were grown to be burned for soda ash manufacture.