Gavdopoula is an islet located north-west of its larger neighbour, Gavdos

Gavdos

Gavdos is the southernmost Greek island, located to the south of its much bigger neighbour, Crete, of which it is administratively a part, in the peripheral unit of Chania. It forms a community with surrounding islets and was part of the former Selino Province. It is the southernmost point of...

, in the Libyan Sea

Libyan Sea

The Libyan Sea is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the African coast of ancient Libya, i.e. Cyrenaica and Marmarica...

. It is located to the south of Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

, of which it is administratively a part, in the peripheral unit of Chania. It is part of the municipality of Gavdos, and it was part of the former Selino Province.

Nature

Gavdopoula is covered with phrygana

Garrigue

Garrigue or phrygana is a type of low, soft-leaved scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils around the Mediterranean Basin, generally near the seacoast, where the climate is ameliorated, but where annual summer...

 (φρύγανα) low-lying shrubs. It is an important stop for migrating

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

birds.

Proposed Container Shipping Development

In 1998 the islet was the proposed site of an enormous container shipping storage facility. Environmentalists campaigned successfully to block the development and Gavdopoula is now a protected nature reserve and notably for migrating birds.