Disappointment Island
 Position relative to New Zealand and other outlying islands |
|
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°36.25′S 165°58.38′E / 50.60417°S 165.973°E |
| Archipelago | Auckland Islands |
| Country | |
|
New Zealand
|
|
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
Disappointment Island (50°36.25′S 165°58.38′E / 50.60417°S 165.973°E) is one of seven uninhabited islands of the archipelago Auckland Islands. It is 5 miles (8 km) from the north-west end of Auckland Island and 180 miles (290 km) south of New Zealand. It is home to the White-capped Albatross. About 65,000 pairs - nearly the entire world population - nest on Disappointment Island.[1] Endemic to the island is the Auckland Rail, once thought to have been extinct, but rediscovered in 1966.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
On 14 May 1866, the General Grant, a full-rigged ship of 1,103 tons, crashed into the towering cliffs on the west coast of Auckland Island. Sixty-eight passengers died. There were fifteen survivors who made their way to Disappointment Island, where they waited eighteen months for rescue.[3]
On 7 March 1907, the Dundonald, a steel, four-masted barque, sank after running ashore on the west side of Disappointment Island. Twelve men drowned. There were sixteen survivors who waited seven months for rescue.[4] They survived on supplies gained from the castaway depot on Auckland Island.
[edit] Important Bird Area
The island is part of the Auckland Island group Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because of the significance of the group as a breeding site for several species of seabirds as well as the endemic Auckland Shag, Auckland Teal, Auckland Rail and Auckland Snipe.[5]
[edit] See also
- Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
- List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
- List of islands of New Zealand
- New Zealand subantarctic islands
- Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
[edit] References
- ^ BBC - Science and Nature.
- ^ Auckland Islands Rail.
- ^ GOLD, SUNKEN. 'from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 18 September 2007.
- ^ Wrecked on the Auckland Islands in 1907.
- ^ BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Auckland Islands. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-01-23.
 |
This article about the geography of New Zealand's outlying islands is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
