Robinson Crusoe Island

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This article is about the Chilean island. For the island in Fiji, see Robinson Crusoe Island (Fiji). For the Arkady Fiedler novel, see Robinson Crusoe Island (novel).
Robinson Crusoe Island
Native name: Isla Robinson Crusoe

Map of Robinson Crusoe Island
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 (18.5 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[2] (as of 2011)

Robinson Crusoe Island (Spanish: Isla Robinson Crusoe), formerly known as Más a Tierra (Closer to Land) or Aguas Buenas (Good Waters),[3] is the second largest of the Juan Fernández Islands, situated 670 km (416 mi) west of San Antonio, Chile, in the South Pacific Ocean.

Robinson Crusoe is the most populous of the inhabited islands in the archipelago (the other being Alejandro Selkirk Island), with most of that in the town of San Juan Bautista at Cumberland Bay on the island's north coast.[2]

The island was home to the marooned sailor Alexander Selkirk for over four years, and may have inspired Daniel Defoe's fictional Robinson Crusoe, for whom it was later renamed.[4]

Geography

Town of San Juan Bautista, on the north coast at Cumberland Bay

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. 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.[1]

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 20 February 1835, a day-long eruption began from a submarine vent 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mi) north of Punta Bacalao. The event was quite minor—only a Volcanic Explosivity Index 1 eruption—but it produced explosions and flames that lit up the island, along with tsunamis.[1]

Climate

Robinson Crusoe has a subtropical climate, 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.[5]

Flora and fauna

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. Out of 211 native plant species, 132 (63%) are endemic, as well as more than 230 species of insects.[6]

Robinson Crusoe Island has one endemic plant family, Lactoridaceae. The Magellanic Penguin is also found there.[7] The Juan Fernández Firecrown is an endemic and critically endangered red hummingbird, which is best known for its needle-fine black beak and silken feather coverage. The Masatierra Petrel is named after the island's former name.[6]

History

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.[8]

In 1704, the sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned as a castaway on the island, where he 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.[4]

In the 1840 narrative, Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana, Jr. described the port of Juan Fernandez as a young prison colony.[9] To reflect the literary lore associated with the island, the Chilean government renamed the location Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966.[10]

World War I

The SMS Dresden, just prior to its scuttling in Cumberland Bay

During World War I, Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee's German East Asia Squadron stopped and re-coaled at the island between 26–28 October 1914, four days before the Battle of Coronel. While at the island, 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. On 9 March 1915 SMS Dresden, the last surviving cruiser of von Spee's squadron after his death at the Battle of the Falklands, returned to the island's Cumberland Bay hoping to be interned by the local Chilean authorities. Caught and fired upon by a British squadron at the Battle of Más a Tierra on 14 March, the ship was scuttled by its crew.[11]

2010 tsunami

On 27 February 2010, Robinson Crusoe Island was hit by a tsunami, after the 8.8 Chile earthquake. The tsunami was about 3 m (10 ft) high when it reached the island.[12] Eight people lost their lives, and much of the coastal village of San Juan Batista was damaged or destroyed.[13] Fortunately, a timely warning from a 12-year-old girl named Martina Maturana saved many of her neighbors from harm.[14]

Society

A fisherman with two spiny lobsters off Robinson Crusoe Island

Robinson Crusoe had an estimated population of 859 in 2011 (525 men, 334 women), most of whom live in the village of San Juan Bautista.[2] 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. The main airstrip on the island is near the tip of the island's southwestern peninsula.[15] The flight from Santiago de Chile is just under three hours. A ferry runs from the airstrip to San Juan Bautista.[16]

Tourists number in the hundreds per year. One activity gaining popularity is scuba diving,[16] particularly on the wreck of the German light cruiser Dresden, which was scuttled in Cumberland Bay during World War I.[11]

In popular culture

Apocalypse Island, a television program which aired on the History Channel on 3 January 2010, was filmed on Robinson Crusoe Island. It showed two rock formations that Canadian explorer Jim Turner claims are badly degraded Mayan statues.[17]

See also

  • Flora of the Juan Fernández Islands
  • Endemic flora of the Juan Fernández Islands
  • Endemic fauna of the Juan Fernández Islands

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Santibáñez, Hernán Torres; Marcela, Torres Cerda (2004). Los parques nacionales de Chile: una guía para el visitante. Colección Fuera de serie. Editorial Universitaria. ISBN 9789561117013. Retrieved 1 May 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Censos de poblacion y vivienda". Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas. Retrieved 2 January 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Dig Finds Camp of 'Real Crusoe'". BBC News (1 November 2008).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Selcraig, Bruce (July 2005). "The Real Robinson Crusoe". Smithsonian. pp. 82–90.
  5. ↑ "Parque Nacional Archipiélago de Juan Fernández". Corporacion Nacional Forestal de Chile. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Forest on Robinson Crusoe Island". Wondermondo. 
  7. ↑ Hogan, C. Michael (2008). Magellanic Penguin. GlobalTwitcher.
  8. ↑ Anderson, A.; Hoberle, S.; Rojas, G. (2002). An Archeological Exploration of Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile. New Zealand Archaeological Association.
  9. ↑ Dana, Richard Henry (1840). Two Years Before the Mast. New York: Harper & Bros. pp. 28–32.
  10. ↑ Severin, Tim (2002). In Search of Robinson Crusoe. New York: Basic Books. pp. 23–24. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Delgado, James P. (10 September 2004). Adventures of a Sea Hunter. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. pp. 168–174. ISBN 1-55365-071-9. 
  12. ↑ Ricketts, Colin (17 Aug 2011). "Tsunami Warning Came Too Late for Robinson Crusoe Island". Earth Times. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  13. ↑ Harrell, Eben (2 March 2010). "Chile's President: Why Did Tsunami Warnings Fail?". Time Magazine. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  14. ↑ Liepmann, Erica (4 March 2010). "Chilean Girl Saves Her Island From Tsunami After Earthquake". Huffington Post. Retireved 4 March 2010.
  15. ↑ "Juan Fernandez, A Living Treasure". GoChile.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Gordon, Nick (14 Dec 2004). "Chile: The Real Crusoe Had It Easy". The Telegraph.
  17. ↑ "Armageddon: Apocalypse Island". A&E Television Networks (2009). Retrieved 18 October 2012.

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