Isla Salas y Gómez[1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈisla ˈsalas i ˈɣomes]), also known as Isla Sala y Gómez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈisla ˈsalaj ˈɣomes]; Rapa Nui: Motu Motiro Hiva), is a small uninhabited Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean.

The island was said to have been difficult to land upon, because the gods Make-make and Huau protected the seabirds from those who ate their eggs and offspring.

[13] During the 2008 Deepsea Coral Symposium,[14] Wellington, the idea of a Marine Protected Area on the submarine ridges of Salas y Gomez and Nazca was launched for the very first time.

This declaration follows the efforts of Oceana and National Geographic to both study and highlight the ecological value of this area, and to encourage its protection.

[18] Salas y Gómez is a volcanic island consisting of the summit of a large mountain which rises about 3500 metres from the sea bed.

[19] Salas y Gómez is the fourth youngest mountain in the chain, which is being formed by the Nazca Plate floating over the Easter hotspot.

[20][21] Salas y Gómez and Easter Island form a distinct ecoregion, the Rapa Nui subtropical broadleaf forests.

However Salas y Gómez is largely barren with no forests and only four species of terrestrial plants; these include Asplenium obtusatum ("spleenwort"), a type of fern which only grows in protected areas at higher elevations.

The lacks of studies has resulted in poor understandings of oceanic fauna of Easter Island and waters in vicinity.

[23] Alan Dean Foster referred to the island in his 1971 Cthulhu mythos short story "Some Notes Concerning a Green Box".

[24] Although only passing Salas y Gomez in 1816 and not going ashore,[25] the German poet Adelbert von Chamisso wrote a poem based on his reflections upon the island.