Boat Run Aground, Northern Part of the Isle of Zante (Zakinthos), Ionian Islands Greece Zante, the southernmost of the Ionian islands and the second largest in area, is situated 10 miles (16 km) off the shore of the Peloponnesus. It takes its name from the abundant wild hyacinths that grow there. One part of the island features imposing chalky cliffs lined with white gypsum that have crumbled away from the effects of erosion and several earthquakes, the most serious of which took place in 1953, forming beaches of fine sand. These beaches are favorite egg-laying sites of loggerhead sea turtles ('Caretta caretta'), which are today endangered by the propellers of boats, as well as by pollution, urbanization, and tourism. For all these reasons, sea turtles now come to lay eggs on the island of Zakinthos in diminishing numbers, decreasing from nearly 2,000 at the end of the 1980s to fewer than 1,000 a decade later.