Inaccessible Island
Encyclopedia
Inaccessible Island is an extinct volcano, 14 km² (5.5 sq mi) in area, rising out of the South Atlantic Ocean 45 km (28 mi) southwest of Tristan da Cunha
. Inaccessible Island is located at 37°18′9"S 12°40′28"W. It is part of the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha, which is part of the overseas territory
of the United Kingdom, known as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
. Throughout its history it has had no permanent population and together with Gough Island
is a protected wildlife reserve which has been designated a World Heritage Site
by UNESCO
.
ship, 146 years after Tristan da Cunha was first sighted by Portuguese sailors. When mapped by sailors, the newly found island was referred to as "inaccessible" because the crew who landed were not able to get further inland than the beach, as they were blocked by 1000-foot high cliffs. However, several later expeditions went deeper into the island to uncover more details about its wildlife.
The Stoltenhoff brothers, who arrived on Inaccessible from Germany in 1871, lived there for several years intending to make a living sealing and selling their wares to passing traders (forgetting how infrequently Inaccessible had visitors). However, due to the scarcity of food, they were "overjoyed" to be rescued in 1873 during HMS Challenger
's visit to examine the flora and fauna there. The South African author Eric Rosenthal
chronicled the Stoltenhoffs' adventure in 1952. The nearby Stoltenhoff Island
is named after the brothers.
ship, the Quest
, stopped by Inaccessible briefly, and on-board naturalist Hubert Wilkins
discovered a bird later named (after him) the Wilkins Bunting (Nesospiza wilkinsi).
's expedition of 1962 to Tristan da Cunha, which took scientists to Inaccessible Island. Like many other explorers before them, the scientists were not able to reach the interior of the island.
made detailed maps of the island, studied its flora, fauna, and geology, and carried out a marking programme on more than 3,000 birds.
The first, and most dramatic, was that of the Blenden Hall, a British ship chartered to the East India Company
, which set sail in 1821 with 84 passengers and crew aboard. Intending to sail past Saint Helena
, it was carried instead towards Tristan da Cunha due to adverse currents. It ran aground on Inaccessible Island and suffered a broken back, but the forecastle was carried inshore. All but two of those aboard survived the shipwreck, and, subsisting on wild celery, seals, penguins, and albatross, managed to build boats some months later. The first attempt to sail to Tristan failed, resulting in the loss of six people, but the second attempt alerted the Tristanians to their plight. The remainder were then brought to Tristan, where most of them were later taken away by a brig
to Cape Town, South Africa.
The other two shipwrecks are the wreck of the Shakespeare at Pig Beach in 1883 and the Helen S Lea at North Point in 1897.
, the world's smallest living flightless bird. Other birds found at Inaccessible include the wandering albatross
, rockhopper penguin
, Tristan thrush
, and the Antarctic tern
.
When Corporal William Glass and his family became the first settlers at Tristan da Cunha in 1816, goats and pigs were brought to Inaccessible Island to serve as a source of food. They remained there for at least 57 years and helped to keep the Stoltenhoff brothers alive during their expedition, but they have now died out. Cattle, sheep, and dogs were also introduced to the island at various points in the island's history, but none remain.
Subantarctic Fur Seal
s and Southern Elephant Seal
s have also been spotted at Inaccessible Island in ever-increasing numbers, and whales live in the surrounding waters.
No land mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, or snails have recently been found at Inaccessible. Inaccessible Island does have 64 native plant species, including 20 types of flower
ing plants and 17 species of fern
s. In addition, 48 invertebrate species exist on the island, 10 of which were introduced.
deposits and eggs, but due to the difficulty of travelling about the island, the islanders have generally chosen to go to Nightingale Island
instead. However, three company ships fish off the coast of Inaccessible. They are permitted by the Tristan da Cunha Annex Penumbra of 1945 to fish up to 3,000 metres from shore.
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying from the nearest land, South Africa, and from South America...
. Inaccessible Island is located at 37°18′9"S 12°40′28"W. It is part of the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha, which is part of the overseas territory
British overseas territories
The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories of the United Kingdom which, although they do not form part of the United Kingdom itself, fall under its jurisdiction. They are remnants of the British Empire that have not acquired independence or have voted to remain British territories...
of the United Kingdom, known as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of the islands of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the Tristan da Cunha group...
. Throughout its history it has had no permanent population and together with Gough Island
Gough Island
Gough Island , also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares or Diego Alvarez, is a volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a dependency of Tristan da Cunha and part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha...
is a protected wildlife reserve which has been designated a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
.
Discovery
Inaccessible Island was first discovered in 1652 during a voyage by t Nachtglas, a DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
ship, 146 years after Tristan da Cunha was first sighted by Portuguese sailors. When mapped by sailors, the newly found island was referred to as "inaccessible" because the crew who landed were not able to get further inland than the beach, as they were blocked by 1000-foot high cliffs. However, several later expeditions went deeper into the island to uncover more details about its wildlife.
1871
HMS Challenger (1858)
HMS Challenger was a steam-assisted Royal Navy Pearl-class corvette launched on 13 February 1858 at the Woolwich Dockyard. She was the flagship of the Australia Station between 1866 and 1870....
's visit to examine the flora and fauna there. The South African author Eric Rosenthal
Eric Rosenthal (historian and author)
Eric Rosenthal, was a South African historian and author. He was born in Newlands, Cape Town. He graduated with a law degree, later becoming a journalist and writer of many corporate histories...
chronicled the Stoltenhoffs' adventure in 1952. The nearby Stoltenhoff Island
Stoltenhoff Island
Stoltenhoff Island is a small uninhabited island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the Nightingale Islands. It is the smallest of the Nightingale Islands, and is to the north west of Nightingale Island itself...
is named after the brothers.
1922
In 1922, the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition'sShackleton-Rowett Expedition
The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition was Sir Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic project, and the final episode in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. The venture, financed by businessman John Quiller Rowett, is sometimes referred to as the Quest Expedition after its ship Quest, a converted...
ship, the Quest
Quest (ship)
The Quest, a low-powered, schooner-rigged steamship that sailed from 1917 until sinking in 1962, is best known as the polar exploration vessel of the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition of 1921-1922. It was aboard this vessel that Sir Ernest Shackleton died on 5 January 1922 while the vessel was in...
, stopped by Inaccessible briefly, and on-board naturalist Hubert Wilkins
Hubert Wilkins
Sir Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer.-Early life:...
discovered a bird later named (after him) the Wilkins Bunting (Nesospiza wilkinsi).
1938
In 1938, the Norwegian Scientific Expedition spent three weeks on the island, during which time they managed to gain access to the plateau and extensively catalogued plants, birds, and rocks.1962
Another attempt at mapping the island was made during the Royal SocietyRoyal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
's expedition of 1962 to Tristan da Cunha, which took scientists to Inaccessible Island. Like many other explorers before them, the scientists were not able to reach the interior of the island.
1976
Inaccessible Island was declared a nature reserve under the Tristan da Cunha Conservation Ordinance of 1976. Tristan islanders, however, were still permitted to harvest seabirds from the island.1982
In a 1982 expedition (October 16, 1982 - February 10, 1983), students and faculty of Denstone CollegeDenstone College
Denstone College is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Denstone,Staffordshire, England and a member school of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is also a Woodard school and as such has a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. It has continued to show impressive academic...
made detailed maps of the island, studied its flora, fauna, and geology, and carried out a marking programme on more than 3,000 birds.
1997
In 1997, Inaccessible Island's territorial waters out to 22 km (12 nm) were declared a nature reserve under the Tristan da Cunha Conservation Ordinance of 1976. Currently, only guides from Tristan are allowed to take visiting cruise ships to Inaccessible; indeed, most trips to the island are now made at the request of expatriates.Shipwrecks
At least three confirmed shipwrecks have occurred off the coast of Inaccessible Island.The first, and most dramatic, was that of the Blenden Hall, a British ship chartered to the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, which set sail in 1821 with 84 passengers and crew aboard. Intending to sail past Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
, it was carried instead towards Tristan da Cunha due to adverse currents. It ran aground on Inaccessible Island and suffered a broken back, but the forecastle was carried inshore. All but two of those aboard survived the shipwreck, and, subsisting on wild celery, seals, penguins, and albatross, managed to build boats some months later. The first attempt to sail to Tristan failed, resulting in the loss of six people, but the second attempt alerted the Tristanians to their plight. The remainder were then brought to Tristan, where most of them were later taken away by a brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
to Cape Town, South Africa.
The other two shipwrecks are the wreck of the Shakespeare at Pig Beach in 1883 and the Helen S Lea at North Point in 1897.
Wildlife
Inaccessible Island is perhaps best known for the Inaccessible Island RailInaccessible Island Rail
The Inaccessible Island Rail is a small bird of the rail family, Rallidae. It is the only species in its genus. It is found only on Inaccessible Island in the Tristan Archipelago, and is notable for being the smallest extant flightless bird in the world...
, the world's smallest living flightless bird. Other birds found at Inaccessible include the wandering albatross
Wandering Albatross
The Wandering Albatross, Snowy Albatross or White-winged Albatross, Diomedea exulans, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae, which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was the first species of albatross to be described, and was long considered the same species as the Tristan...
, rockhopper penguin
Rockhopper penguin
The rockhopper penguins are three closely related taxa of crested penguins that have been traditionally treated as a single species and are sometimes split into two or three species. Not all experts agree on the classification of these penguins...
, Tristan thrush
Tristan Thrush
The Tristan Thrush , also known as the Starchy, is a species of bird in the thrush family that is endemic to the isolated Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean.-Description:...
, and the Antarctic tern
Antarctic Tern
The Antarctic Tern is a typical tern. It ranges throughout the southern oceans. It is very similar in appearance to the closely related Arctic Tern, but is stockier, and the wing tips are grey instead of blackish in flight...
.
When Corporal William Glass and his family became the first settlers at Tristan da Cunha in 1816, goats and pigs were brought to Inaccessible Island to serve as a source of food. They remained there for at least 57 years and helped to keep the Stoltenhoff brothers alive during their expedition, but they have now died out. Cattle, sheep, and dogs were also introduced to the island at various points in the island's history, but none remain.
Subantarctic Fur Seal
Subantarctic Fur Seal
The subantarctic fur seal is a fur seal found in the southern parts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It was first described by Gray in 1872 from a specimen recovered in northern Australia—hence the inappropriate tropicalis specific name.- Description :The subantarctic fur seal is...
s and Southern Elephant Seal
Southern Elephant Seal
The Southern Elephant Seal is one of the two extant species of elephant seal. It is both the most massive pinniped and member of the order Carnivora living today...
s have also been spotted at Inaccessible Island in ever-increasing numbers, and whales live in the surrounding waters.
No land mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, or snails have recently been found at Inaccessible. Inaccessible Island does have 64 native plant species, including 20 types of flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
ing plants and 17 species of fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s. In addition, 48 invertebrate species exist on the island, 10 of which were introduced.
Economy
Inaccessible Island has been used by the islanders of Tristan da Cunha for several economic purposes. The island has guanoGuano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
deposits and eggs, but due to the difficulty of travelling about the island, the islanders have generally chosen to go to Nightingale Island
Nightingale Island
Nightingale Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, 3 km² in area, part of the Tristan da Cunha group of islands. They are administered by the United Kingdom as part of the overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha....
instead. However, three company ships fish off the coast of Inaccessible. They are permitted by the Tristan da Cunha Annex Penumbra of 1945 to fish up to 3,000 metres from shore.
External links
- Inaccessible Island: Tristan da Cunha website
- History of Inaccessible Island, South Atlantic Ocean
- Tristan Times: Inaccessible Island expedition
- Inaccessible Island shipwrecks
- UNEP-WCMC Protected Areas Programme: Gough Island Wildlife Reserve
- Online Encyclopedia: Tristan da Cunha
- University of Central Lancashire: Inaccessible Island
- Geology of Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island