| West Point Island | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Location of West Point Island within the Falkland Islands | |
| Names | |
| English name: | West Point Island |
| Former name: | Albatross Island |
| Spanish name: | Isla Remolinos |
| Area and Summit | |
| Area: | 1255 hectares |
| Highest elevation: | Mount Misery 369 m (1,211 ft) |
| Population | |
| Population (2001): | |
| References: | |
| If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively. | |
West Point Island (originally known as Albatross Island; Spanish: Isla Remolinos) is one of the Falkland Islands, lying west of West Falkland. It has an area of 1,255 hectares (4.85 sq mi) and is run as a sheep farm by R.P. McGill of Carcass Island.[1]
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Like many locations around the Falkland Islands, West Point was a popular site for slaughtering seals and penguins for oil, at the turn of the 19th century. Literal overkill helped to end this industry in the area.
The island was established as a farm in the 1860s, by the Napier family.[2]
Wildlife on West Point includes rockhopper penguins, black-browed albatrosses and Commerson's dolphins. The Felton Plant, which was named after the current owner's great uncle who discovered it, also grows here.[2] It is fairly rare in the Falkland Islands, being found only in a few locations such as Tea Island, but there is quite a lot of it here.
The island gardens have a fairly wide selection of introduced plants including roses, foxgloves, daisies, red hot pokers etc.[2] Unusually for the Falklands, there are also a few trees. Other stands of trees can be found at Hill Cove on West Falkland and Carcass Island.
West Point Island lies off the north west point of West Falkland. It is 3.7 miles (6 km) long with a maximum width of 2.5 miles (4 km) and dramatic west-facing cliffs are more than 350 metres (1,150 ft) high. Further east, the highest point is Mount Misery at 337 metres (1,106 ft) [3] while West Point Island Settlement with its 640-metre (2,100 ft) airstrip lie on Westpoint Cove in the north east.
It is separated from West Falkland by the Wooly Gut channel, named after a particularly strong form of westerly wind in the Falklands that affects this channel.
It is south east of the Jason Islands, the nearest being South Jason Island.
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