Desventuradas Islands Explained

Desventuradas Islands
Native Name:Islas Desventuradas
Image Alt:Map of Desventuradas Islands, also known as San Félix Islands
Pushpin Map:South America
Pushpin Map Width:220
Pushpin Map Caption:The Desventuradas Islands are part of oceanic Chile
Location:Chilean Sea
Archipelago:Desventuradas
Waterbody:Pacific Ocean
Total Islands:4
Major Islands:San Ambrosio, San Félix, Gonzalez and Roca Catedral
Area Km2:5.36
Area Footnotes:(together)
Elevation M:479
Elevation Footnotes: max.
Country Admin Divisions Title:Region
Country Admin Divisions Title 1:Province
Country Admin Divisions 1:Valparaíso Province
Country Admin Divisions Title 2:Commune
Country Admin Divisions 2:Juan Fernández
Population:11
Timezone1:Chile Standard Time[1]
Utc Offset1:-4
Timezone1 Dst:Chile Summer Time[2]
Utc Offset1 Dst:-3
Additional Info:NGA UFI=
-900077 "San Ambrosio"
-883263 "Gonzáles"
-900282 "San Félix"

The Desventuradas Islands (Spanish; Castilian: Islas Desventuradas,[3] pronounced as /es/, "Unfortunate Islands" or Islas de los Desventurados, "Islands of the Unfortunate Ones"[4]) is a group of four small oceanic islands located 850km (530miles) off the coast of Chile, northwest of Santiago in the Pacific Ocean. They are considered part of Insular Chile.

Due to their isolation and difficulty of access there are no civilian settlements on these islands, but a detachment of the Chilean Navy is stationed on Isla San Félix, which also hosts the 2000m (7,000feet) Isla San Felix Airport.

History

Prehistory

No signs of prehistoric human activity by Polynesians or Indigenous peoples of the Americas have ever been found on the islands, or on the neighboring Juan Fernández Islands.[5] Michael Levinson's 1973 book The Settlement of Polynesia states, "the Juan Fernández Islands and San Felix and San Ambrosio were apparently unoccupied in pre-Columbian times and were not discovered by the Spanish until between 1563 and 1574. There is no evidence available to suggest that they were visited for fishing or other reasons by Amerindians before this."[6]

Discovery

The islands were possibly discovered by Ferdinand Magellan as early as 1521. The first confirmed sighting was by Juan Fernández on 6 November 1574 while voyaging from Callao to Valparaíso.[7] Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa wrote in 1579 that "they are now called after St. Felix and St. Ambor (i.e. Felix and Nabor)". However, the name of the martyr Ambor (Nabor) became confused with that of the more famous bishop Saint Ambrose (San Ambrosio).[8] [9] It is, probably, one of these islands that Captain John Davis struck one night in 1686. He was able to continue his voyage but erroneously reported the position of the incident.[10]

San Felix played a part in the Falklands War. In May 1982, the Chilean government allowed an RAF Nimrod R1 to fly signals reconnaissance sorties from the island, gathering information on Argentine Air Force movements.[11] [12]

Ecology

Vegetation of the larger islands is a miniature mosaic of matorral, barren rock, various sizes of trees, and shrubs mixed with ferns and perennial herbs. Sonchus laceratus is an endemic shrub species. The large islands, San Félix and San Ambrosio, are home to a critical WWF recognized temperate forest biome.

The marine fauna shares close affinities with the south Pacific and the central Pacific, more so than with the nearing South America. This is partly due to the Humboldt Current, which helps create a powerful biogeographic barrier between these islands and South America.[13]

There are no permanent sources of fresh water on any of the islands. Vertebrates inhabiting both of the largest islands are limited to birds. Ten species of marine birds and one land bird species, some of them endangered, make their nests on or visit the islands. The island group has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it is a breeding site for large numbers of Masatierra petrels.[14]

List of islands and location

The Desventuradas Islands, from east to west:

Island/Rock Area
(km2)
Peak
Elevation (m)
Geographical
Coordinates
San Ambrosio 3.1479
San Felix group
Islote González 0.25173
San Félix 2Cerro Amarillo, 193
Roca Catedral 0.0153
Total 5.36479 

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Time Zone & Clock Changes in Desventuradas Islands, Chile . timeanddate.com . 4 May 2020.
  2. Web site: Time Zone & Clock Changes in Desventuradas Islands, Chile . timeanddate.com . 4 May 2020.
  3. Book: Athol . Anderson . Simon . Haberle . Gloria . Rojos . Andrea . Seelenfreund . Ion . Smith . Trevor . Worthy . An archaeological exploration of Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile . 239–249 . https://nzarchaeology.org/download/robinson-crusoe-island-juan-fernandez-archipelago-chile . Shutler . Richard . Fifty Years in the Field: Essays in Honour and Celebration of Richard Shutler Jr's Archaeological Career . 2002 . New Zealand Archaeological Association . 978-0-9597915-8-7 . 606934180 .
  4. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11441335 ADM - Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies; Pacific Ocean: South America, W Coast: Chile: Islas de los Desventurados and Islas Juan Fernandez;
  5. Book: Flett . Iona . Islands of Inquiry . Haberle . Simon . 2008 . ANU Press . 978-1-921313-89-9 . Clark . Geoffrey . 281–300 . East of Easter: Traces of human impact in the far-eastern Pacific . 10.1.1.593.8988 . 1885/38139 . j.ctt24h8gp.20 . Leach . Foss . O'Connor . Sue . http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p26551/pdf/ch181.pdf.
  6. https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/114825/2/b13217963.pdf
  7. Delgado . James P. . Brennan . Michael L. . Rapu Haoa . Sergio A. . Rapu Leong . Julianna H. . Gaymer . Carlos F. . Carabias . Diego . Stokes . Emily . Wagner . Daniel . The hidden landscape: Maritime cultural heritage of the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges with implications for conservation on the high seas . Marine Policy . 1 February 2022 . 136 . 104877 . 10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104877 . 245223594 . free .
  8. Corney . B. Glanvill . The Isles of San Felix and San Nabor . The Geographical Journal . 1920 . 56 . 3 . 196–200 . 10.2307/1781535 . 1781535 . 1920GeogJ..56..196C .
  9. Brand, Donald D. The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.127.
  10. Book: Jacques Julien Houtou de Labillardière. Relation du voyage à la recherche de La Pérouse ... 1791, 1792, et pendant la Ière et la 2de année de la République françoise. 2 tom. [and] Atlas. 1800.
  11. Web site: Chile . 2008-08-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120430052441/http://www.spyflight.co.uk/chile.htm . 2012-04-30 .
  12. News: Alexander. Harriet. 'Without Chile's help, we would have lost the Falklands'. 8 July 2014. The Telegraph. 7 July 2014.
  13. Web site: Desventuradas Islands.
  14. Web site: Islas Desventuradas. . 2021. BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 22 January 2021.