Geography of the Pitcairn Islands

Map of Pitcairn Islands. Source:CIA World Factbook

The Pitcairn Islands consist of five islands: Pitcairn Island, Sandy Island, Oeno Island, Henderson Island and Ducie Island:

Pitcairn Islands as a group of islands (25°04′00″S 130°05′00″W)

• Pitcairn Island (main island) (25°04′S 130°06′W)
• Henderson Island (24°22′01″S 128°18′57″W)
• Ducie Island (24°40′09″S 124°47′11″W)
• Oeno Island and its associated islands
  • Oeno Island (23°55′26″S 130°44′03″W)
  • Sandy Island (23°54′44″S 130°43′37″W)

Pitcairn Island is a volcanic high island. Henderson Island is an uplifted coral island. Ducie and Oeno are coral atolls. Sandy Island is located in the same atoll as Oeno.

The only inhabited island, Pitcairn, has an area of 5 km² and a population density of 10/km²; it is only accessible by boat through Bounty Bay.

The other islands are at a distance of more than 100 km. Wikimedia Atlas of the Pitcairn Islands

Location

Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Peru to New Zealand, one of the most remote sites of human habitation on Earth.

Area

Total: 47 km²
Land: 47 km²
Water: 0 km²

Area - comparative

About 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

0 km

Coastline

51 km

Maritime claims

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi
Territorial sea: 3 nmi

Climate

Tropical, hot, humid; modified by southeast trade winds; rainy season (November to March)

Terrain

Geodesy Collection on Pitcairn Island

Rugged volcanic formation; rocky coastline with cliffs

Elevation extremes

Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Highest point: Pawala Valley Ridge 347 m

Natural resources

Miro trees (used for handicrafts), fish
Note: manganese, iron, copper, gold, silver, and zinc have been discovered offshore

Natural hazards

Typhoons (especially November to March)

Environment - current issues

Deforestation (only a small portion of the original forest remains because of burning and clearing for settlement)

See also

• Pitcairn Islands

Map references

These worldwide map services show very little detail of the islands, and are even of limited use to show the location of them with respect to each other and to other islands, because they are so small and far apart. However, Mapquest zoom level 1 is a suitable map to see the location between Peru and New Zealand. See also map showing location of the Pitcairn Islands with respect to other island groups and to continents

For the location with respect to French Polynesia, see the inset of Image:French Polynesia map.jpg.

Note: Mapquest 6 and 7 wrongly label Pitcairn island "French Polynesia".