Robinson Crusoe Island

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This article is about the Chilean island. For the island in Fiji, see Robinson Crusoe Island (Fiji).
Robinson Crusoe Island
Native name: Isla Robinson Crusoe
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Map of Robinson Crusoe Island/Isla Más a Tierra
Orthographic projection centred over Juan Fernandez.png
Geography
Coordinates 33°38′29″S 78°50′28″W / 33.64139°S 78.84111°W / -33.64139; -78.84111Coordinates: 33°38′29″S 78°50′28″W / 33.64139°S 78.84111°W / -33.64139; -78.84111
Archipelago Juan Fernández Islands
Adjacent bodies of water Pacific Ocean
Area 47.9 km2 (18.49 sq mi)[1]
Highest elevation 915 m (3,002 ft)[1]
Highest point El Yunque
Country
Region Valparaíso
Province Valparaíso Province
Commune Juan Fernández Islands
Demographics
Population 859 (as of 2011 est.)

Robinson Crusoe Island (Spanish: Isla Robinson Crusoe), formerly known as Más a Tierra (Closer to Land) or Aguas Buenas (Good Waters),[2] is the largest island of the Juan Fernández Archipelago, situated 600 km (373 mi) west of South America in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is made up of three islands, Robinson Crusoe, Alejandro Selkirk and Santa Clara. Robinson Crusoe has the largest population of the two inhabited islands, with most of the population living in the town of San Juan Bautista at Cumberland Bay on the island's north coast.

Contents

Geography [edit]

Town of San Juan Bautista on Cumberland Bay, Robinson Crusoe Island

Robinson Crusoe Island has a mountainous and undulating terrain, formed by ancient lava flows which have built up from numerous volcanic episodes. The highest point on the island is 915 m (3,002 ft) above sea level at El Yunque[1]. Intense erosion has resulted in the formation of steep valleys and ridges. A narrow peninsula is formed in the southwestern part of the island called Cordón Escarpado. The island of Santa Clara is located 1.5 km (0.9 mi) off the southwest coast.

Robinson Crusoe Island lies to the west of the boundary between the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate, and rose from the ocean 3.8 – 4.2 million years ago. A volcanic eruption on the island was reported in 1743 from El Yunque, but this event is uncertain. On the February 20, 1835, a day-long eruption began from a submarine vent 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mi) north of Punta Bacalao. The event was quite small—only a Volcanic Explosivity Index 1 eruption—but it produced explosions and flames that lit up the island, along with tsunamis.

Climate [edit]

Robinson Crusoe has a subtropical climate,[3] moderated by the cold Humboldt Current, which flows northward to the east of the island, and the southeast trade winds. Temperatures range from 3 °C (37 °F) to 34 °C (93 °F), with an annual mean of 15.4 °C (60 °F). Higher elevations are generally cooler, with occasional frosts. Rainfall is greater in the winter months, and varies with elevation and exposure; elevations above 500 m (1,640 ft) experience almost daily rainfall, while the western, leeward side of the island is lower and drier.

Flora and fauna [edit]

The Fernandezian Region is a Floristic Region which includes the Juan Fernández Islands archipelago. It is in the Antarctic Floristic Kingdom, but often also included within the Neotropical Kingdom. As World Biosphere Reserves since 1977, these islands have been considered of maximum scientific importance because of the endemic plant families, genera, and species of flora and fauna. 132 out of 211 native plant species are endemic, as well as more than 230 species of insects.[4]

Robinson Crusoe Island has one endemic plant family, Lactoridaceae. The Magellanic Penguin is also found there.[5] The Juan Fernández Firecrown is an endemic and critically endangered red hummingbird, which is most famous for its needle-fine black beak and silken feather coverage.

History [edit]

The SMS Dresden before sinking at Robinson Crusoe Island

The island was first named Juan Fernandez Island after Juan Fernández, a Spanish sea captain and explorer who was the first to land there in 1574. It was also known as Más a Tierra. There is no evidence of an earlier discovery either by Polynesians, despite the proximity to Easter Island, or by Native Americans.[6]

It was here that the sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned as a castaway in 1704, and lived in solitude for four years and four months. Selkirk had been gravely concerned about the seaworthiness of his ship, the Cinque Ports, and declared his wish to be left on the island during a mid-voyage restocking stop. His captain, Thomas Stradling, a colleague on the voyage of privateer and explorer William Dampier, was tired of his dissent and obliged. All Selkirk had left with him was a musket, gunpowder, carpenter's tools, a knife, a Bible and some clothing. The sailor's experience most likely inspired Daniel Defoe to write the classic novel Robinson Crusoe in 1719.[7] In the 1840 narrative, Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana, Jr. described the port of Juan Fernandez as a young prison colony.[8] To reflect the literary lore associated with the island, the Chilean government renamed the location Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966.

Admiral Maximilian von Spee's cruiser squadron stopped and re-coaled at the island between 26 – 28 October 1914, during World War I. It was here that the admiral was unexpectedly rejoined by the armed merchant cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich, which he had earlier detached to attack Allied shipping in Australian waters, and where he was finally caught by a British squadron at the Battle of Más a Tierra.

2010 Tsunami [edit]

Robinson Crusoe Island was hit by a tsunami on February 27, 2010 after the 8.8 Chile earthquake. The tsunami was about 3 m (10 ft) high when it reached the island.[9][10] Eight people lost their lives, and much of the coastal village of San Juan Batista was damaged or destroyed.[11] Fortunately, a timely warning from a 12-year-old girl named Martina Maturana saved many of her neighbors from harm.[12]

Society [edit]

A fisherman with two spiny lobsters off Robinson Crusoe Island

Robinson Crusoe had an estimated population of 859 in 2011 (525 men, 334 women) living in the village of San Juan Bautista.[13] Although the community maintains a rustic serenity dependent on the spiny lobster trade, residents employ a few vehicles, a satellite internet connection, and many television sets. There is an airstrip[14][15] on the island, near the tip of the island's southwestern peninsula. The flying time from Santiago de Chile is just under three hours,[16] and there is a ferry from the airstrip to San Juan Bautista.

Tourists number in the hundreds per year. One activity gaining popularity is scuba diving, particularly on the wreck of the German light cruiser SMS Dresden, which was scuttled in Cumberland Bay during the Battle of Más a Tierra in World War I.

In popular culture [edit]

Apocalypse Island, a television program shown on the History Channel on January 3, 2010, was filmed on Robinson Crusoe Island. It showed two rock formations that Canadian explorer Jim Turner claims are badly degraded Mayan statues.[17] The program has been criticized as lacking in scientific credibility.[18]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c Santib{\'a}{\~n}ez, H.T., Cerda, M.T. (2004). Los parques nacionales de Chile: una gu\'\ia para el visitante. Colecci\'on Fuera de serie. Editorial Universitaria. ISBN 9789561117013. Retrieved 1 May, 2013. 
  2. ^ Dig finds camp of 'real Crusoe' – BBC News
  3. ^ Corporacion Nacional Forestal de Chile. "Parque Nacional Archipiélago de Juan Fernández". Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  4. ^ "Forest on Robinson Crusoe Island". Wondermondo. 
  5. ^ C. Michael Hogan (2008) Magellanic Penguin, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
  6. ^ A. Anderson, S. Hoberle, G. Rojas, An Archeological exploration of Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile
  7. ^ B. Selcraig (July 2005). The Real Robinson Crusoe. Smithsonian, p.82–90.
  8. ^ Richard Henry Dana (1840). Two Years Before the Mast, p.28–32.
  9. ^ Tsunami warning came too late for Robinson Crusoe Island Earth Times
  10. ^ Narrative by tourists who were there during the tsunami
  11. ^ Eben Harrell (2 March 2010), "Chile's President: Why Did Tsunami Warnings Fail?", Time Magazine (accessed 4 March 2010).
  12. ^ Erica Liepmann (4 March 2010), "Chilean Girl Saves Her Island From Tsunami After Earthquake", Huffington Post (accessed 4 March 2010).
  13. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas.
  14. ^ La Punta Airport
  15. ^ Juan Fernandez, A Living Treasure
  16. ^ Chile: The real Crusoe had it easy
  17. ^ "Armageddon: Apocalypse Island". A&E Television Networks. 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2012. 
  18. ^ "User Comments: Apocalypse Island". Internet Movie Database. n.d. Retrieved 18 October 2012. 

External links [edit]

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