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137-506: Clipperton Rock is the highest point on Clipperton Island at 29 metres above sea level. Clipperton Rock is located in the southeast of Clipperton Island. It constitutes the only emerged point of a chain of submarine mountains and volcanoes known as the East Pacific Rise . It is composed of trachyandesite and constitutes the last fragment of the neck of the volcano before becoming dormant. Elongated in shape and approximately
274-424: A geodetic marker was placed to evaluate if the land is rising or sinking. Clipperton Rock is the remains of the island's now extinct volcano's rim; because it includes this rocky outcropping, Clipperton is not a true atoll and is sometimes referred to as a 'near-atoll'. The surrounding reef in combination with the weather makes landing on the island difficult and anchoring offshore hazardous for larger ships; in
411-598: A 'stepping stone' role in the interaction between Amerindians or Polynesians in prehistory". The lack of fresh water on the islands seems to have limited visits and settlement, if any ever occurred. European discovery of the Galápagos Islands is recorded occurring on 10 March 1535, when the Spanish bishop of Panama Tomás de Berlanga —sailing to Peru to adjudicate a dispute between Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro —drifted off course while his ship
548-593: A Mr. Lockhard of Le Havre to claim oceanic islands in the Pacific for the exploitation of guano deposits. On 17 November 1858, Emperor Napoleon III formally annexed Clipperton as part of the French protectorate of Tahiti . Sailing aboard Lockhart's ship Amiral , Ship-of-the-line Lieutenant Victor Le Coat de Kervéguen published a notice of this annexation in Hawaiian newspapers to further cement France's claim to
685-682: A bloody uprising in 1841 that caused most settlers to return to the mainland. Villamil returned to try to rebuild afterwards but was unsuccessful and abandoned the attempt in 1848. The second voyage of HMS Beagle under captain Robert FitzRoy was undertaken to better survey the coasts and harbours of South America for the British Navy 's Hydrographic Department . It reached the Galápagos on 15 September 1835 and—while surveying its islands, channels, and bays—the captain and others on
822-728: A concession agreement with Mexico. In 1898, Mexico made a US$ 1.5 million claim against the Oceanic Phosphate Company for the guano shipped from the island from 1895 to 1897. In 1905, the Mexican government renegotiated its agreement with the British Pacific Islands Company, establishing a military garrison on the island a year later and erecting a lighthouse under the orders of Mexican President Porfirio Díaz . Captain Ramón Arnaud
959-545: A corresponding increase in both vegetation and coconut palms. This report urgently recommended eradication of rats, which have been destroying bird nesting sites and the crab population, so that vegetation might be reduced, and the island might return to its 'pre-human' state. In 1825, Benjamin Morrell reported finding green sea turtles nesting on Clipperton, but later expeditions have not found nesting turtles there, possibly due to disruption from guano extraction, as well as
1096-624: A far-fetched legend, especially since the Incas were not typically a seafaring people. A 1952 archaeological survey by Thor Heyerdahl and Arne Skjølsvold found potsherds and other artifacts from several sites on the islands that they claimed suggested visitation by South Americans during the pre-Columbian era . The group located an Inca flute and shards from more than 130 pieces of ceramics, later identified as pre-Incan. However, no remains of graves, ceremonial vessels, or buildings have ever been found, suggesting no permanent settlement occurred before
1233-632: A formal ceremony of annexation on Floreana on 12 February 1832, now celebrated locally as Galápagos Day or the Day of the Province. (Darwin's birthday was the same day, as was Francisco de Orellana 's arrival at the headwaters of the Amazon River in 1542, celebrated on the mainland as Amazon Day .) Villamil arrived in September and established Haven of Peace ( Asilo de Paz or de la Paz ) in
1370-597: A hundred meters in length the rock has many cavities large enough to walk though. It rises to an altitude of 29 meters, almost entirely surrounded by the waters of the lagoon it is only connected to the rest of the atoll by a narrow strip of land to the east. A geodetic marker from the IGN has been affixed to the rock. Clipperton Island Clipperton Island (French: La Passion–Clipperton [la pasjɔ̃ klipœʁtɔn] ; Spanish: Isla de la Pasión ), also known as Clipperton Atoll and previously as Clipperton's Rock ,
1507-529: A passing ship to fetch help. Lighthouse keeper Victoriano Álvarez was the last man on the island, together with 15 women and children. Álvarez proclaimed himself 'king', and began a campaign of rape and murder, before being killed by Tirza Rendón, who was his favourite victim. Almost immediately after Álvarez's death, four women and seven children, the last survivors, were picked up by the U.S. Navy gunship Yorktown on 18 July 1917. Throughout Mexico's occupation of Clipperton, France insisted on its ownership of
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#17327759276291644-469: A reduced issue price. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation insures the deal, which per Reuters was "in the works for more than a year", predating UBS takeover of Credit Suisse. The islands are administered as Ecuador's Galápagos Province , established by presidential decree on 18 February 1973 during the administration of Guillermo Rodríguez Lara . The province is divided into three cantons , each covering groups of islands. The capital
1781-517: A rise in sea level, greater wave action, and a depletion of nutrients in the water. This cycle can greatly affect the precipitation from one year to another. At Charles Darwin Station, the precipitation during the month of March in the particularly wet year of 1969 was 249.0 mm (9.80 in), but during March 1970 the next year it was only 1.2 mm (0.047 in). There is also a large range in precipitation from one place to another and across
1918-479: A still seaworthy lifeboat, four members of the crew volunteered to row to Acapulco for help. The USS Cleveland arrived months later to rescue the crew. While there, the captain offered to transport the survivors of the colony back to Acapulco; Arnaud refused as he believed a supply ship would soon arrive. By 1917, all but one of the male inhabitants had died. Many had perished from scurvy , while others, including Arnaud, died during an attempt to sail after
2055-540: Is Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia . Despite its proximity to North America, Clipperton is often considered one of the eastern-most points of Oceania due to being part the French Indo-Pacific, and to commonalities between its marine fauna and the marine fauna of Hawaii and Kiribati 's Line Islands , with the island sitting along the migration path for animals in
2192-416: Is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno . The largest ethnic group is composed of Ecuadorian Mestizos , the mixed descendants of Spanish colonists and indigenous Native Americans, who arrived mainly in the last century from the continental part of Ecuador . Some descendants of the early European and American colonists on the islands also still remain on the islands. In 1959, approximately 1,000 to 2,000 people called
2329-523: Is an 8.9 km (3.4 sq mi ) uninhabited French coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean . The only French territory in the North Pacific, Clipperton is 10,675 km (6,633 mi ) from Paris , France; 5,400 km (2,900 nmi ) from Papeete , French Polynesia ; and 1,280 km (690 nmi ) from Acapulco , Mexico. Clipperton was documented by French merchant-explorers in 1711 and formally claimed as part of
2466-478: Is associated with a sill 2 km (1.2 mi) below the caldera. The caldera on Fernandina experienced the largest basaltic volcano collapse in history, with the 1968 phreatomagmatic eruption . Fernandina has also been the most active volcano since 1790, with recent eruptions in 1991, 1995, 2005, and 2009, and the entire surface has been covered in numerous flows since 4.3 Ka . The western volcanoes have numerous tuff cones . The islands are located in
2603-404: Is believed to be composed of recently introduced species. Sachet suspected that Heliotropium curassavicum , and possibly Portulaca oleracea , were native. Coconut palms and pigs introduced in the 1890s by guano miners were still present in the 1940s. The largest coconut grove is Bougainville Wood ( Bois de Bougainville ) on the southwestern end of the island. On the northwest side of
2740-819: Is bounded by the Cocos Ridge and Carnegie Ridge in the east. Furthermore, the Galápagos Hotspot is at the northern boundary of the Pacific Large Low Shear Velocity Province while the Easter Hotspot is on the southern boundary. The Galápagos Archipelago is characterized by numerous contemporaneous volcanoes, some with plume magma sources, others from the asthenosphere , possibly due to the young and thin oceanic crust . The GSC caused structural weaknesses in this thin lithosphere leading to eruptions forming
2877-413: Is common to only two beaches (northeast and southwest), and the rest of the island is fairly clean. Other refuse has been left after the occupations by Americans 1944–1945, French 1966–1969, and the 2008 scientific expedition. During a 2015 scientific and amateur radio expedition to Clipperton, the operating team discovered a package that contained 1.2 kilograms (2.6 lb) of cocaine. It is suspected that
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#17327759276293014-477: Is devoid of fish, and is shallow over large parts except for some deep basins with depths of 43–72 m (141–236 ft ), including a spot known as Trou Sans Fond ('the bottomless hole') with acidic water at its base. The water is described as being almost fresh at the surface and highly eutrophic . Seaweed beds cover approximately 45% of the lagoon's surface. The rim averages 150 m (490 ft ) in width, reaching 400 m (1,300 ft ) in
3151-572: Is mostly a sandy desert with only 674 palms counted by Christian Jost during the Passion 2001 French mission and five islets in the lagoon with grass that the terrestrial crabs cannot reach. A 2005 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's Southwest Fisheries Science Center indicated that after the introduction of rats and their increased presence has led to a decline in both crab and bird populations, causing
3288-416: Is native to the island". Historical accounts from 1711, 1825, and 1839 show a low grassy or suffrutescent (partially woody) flora. During Marie-Hélène Sachet 's visit in 1958, the vegetation was found to consist of a sparse cover of spiny grass and low thickets, a creeping plant ( Ipomoea spp. ), and stands of coconut palm. This low-lying herbaceous flora seems to be a pioneer in nature, and most of it
3425-655: Is that the vegetation is arranged in parallel rows of species, with dense rows of taller species alternating with lower, more open vegetation. This was assumed to be a result of the trench-digging method of phosphate mining used by guano hunters. The only land animals known to exist are two species of reptiles (the Pacific stump-toed gecko and the copper-tailed skink ), bright-orange land crabs known as Clipperton crabs ( Johngarthia oceanica , prior to 2019 classified as Johngartia planata ), birds, and ship rats . The rats probably arrived when large fishing boats wrecked on
3562-566: The National Geographic Explorer and plotting a GPS map of Clipperton for the National Geographic Society . In 2005, a four-month scientific mission organised by Jean-Louis Étienne made a complete inventory of Clipperton's mineral, plant, and animal species; studied algae as deep as 100 m (328 ft ) below sea level; and examined the effects of pollution. A 2008 expedition from
3699-559: The Australian National University stated that certain Asia–Pacific taxa may have been growing in the Galápagos prior to 1535. This opens a direction for future research which might "constitute a strong line of evidence for accidental or deliberate landfall in the Galápagos by a Polynesian vessel", although the report noted current scholarship finds no evidence that Pacific islands beyond Easter Island "play[ed]
3836-605: The Clipperton Island Case remains widely studied in international law textbooks. In the late 1930s, as flying boats opened the Pacific to air travel, Clipperton Island was noted as a possible waypoint for a trans-Pacific route from the Americas to Asia via the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, bypassing Hawaii. However, France indicated no interest in developing commercial air traffic in
3973-681: The Colon or Columbus Archipelago ( Archipiélago del Colón ) in 1892 upon the quadricentennial of Columbus 's first voyage . The islands were mapped by the English buccaneer William Ambrosia Cowley in 1684 and by the British captain James Colnett in 1793. The names they chose to honour British kings , nobles , and naval officers of their eras continued to be used for the major islands until recently and are still used for many of
4110-729: The Eastern Pacific , located around the Equator 900 km (560 mi) west of the mainland of South America . They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador , with a population of slightly over 33,000 (2020) . The province is divided into the cantons of San Cristóbal , Santa Cruz , and Isabela , the three most populated islands in the chain. The Galápagos are famous for their large number of endemic species , which were studied by Charles Darwin in
4247-608: The Eastern Tropical Pacific region. The island is the only emerged part of the East Pacific Rise , as well as the only feature in the Clipperton Fracture Zone that breaks the ocean's surface, and it is one of the few islands in the Pacific that lacks an underwater archipelagic apron . The atoll is low-lying and largely barren, with some scattered grasses, and a few clumps of coconut palms ( Cocos nucifera ). The land ring surrounding
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4384-497: The Galapagos group for specimens; this included Wreck Bay on Chatham Island (now San Cristóbal Island ) on 4 April and Charles Island (now Floreana Island ) on 8 April. José Valdizán and Manuel Julián Cobos tried a new colonization, beginning the exploitation of a type of lichen found in the islands ( Roccella portentosa ) used as a coloring agent. After the assassination of Valdizán by some of his workers, Cobos brought from
4521-698: The Galápagos triple junction . The archipelago is located on the Nazca plate (a tectonic plate), which is moving east/southeast, diving under the South American plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) per year. It is also atop the Galápagos hotspot , a place where the Earth's crust is being melted from below by a mantle plume , creating volcanoes. The first islands formed here at least 8 million and possibly up to 90 million years ago. While
4658-534: The University of New Caledonia Nouméa , made extensive studies of the island in 1997. In 2001, French National Centre for Scientific Research geographer Christian Jost extended the 1997 studies through the French Passion 2001 expedition, which focused on the evolution of Clipperton's ecosystem . In 2003, cinematographer Lance Milbrand stayed on the island for 41 days, recording the adventure for
4795-426: The University of Washington 's School of Oceanography collected sediment cores from the lagoon to study climate change over the past millennium. Clipperton is a ring-shaped atoll that completely encloses a stagnant fresh water lagoon and measures 12 km (7.5 mi ) in circumference and 720 hectares (2.8 sq mi) in area. The island is the only coral island in the eastern Pacific. The lagoon
4932-605: The indigenous peoples of South America ever made it to the islands is disputed. Oceanic Pacific islands in the same general area as Galápagos—including Clipperton , Cocos , the Desventuradas , the Juan Fernández Islands , and the Revillagigedos —were all uninhabited when discovered by Europeans, with no evidence to indicate any prehistoric human activity. The easternmost oceanic island in
5069-681: The island chain and seamounts . Besides the Galápagos Archipelago , other key tectonic features in the region include the Northern Galápagos volcanic province between the archipelago and the Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) 200 km (120 mi) to the north at the boundary of the Nazca plate and the Cocos plate . This spreading center truncates into the East Pacific Rise on the west and
5206-443: The 1830s and inspired his theory of evolution by means of natural selection . All of these islands are protected as part of Ecuador's Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve . Thus far, there is no firm evidence that Polynesians or the indigenous peoples of South America reached the islands before their accidental discovery by Bishop Tomás de Berlanga in 1535. If some visitors did arrive, poor access to fresh water on
5343-507: The 1940s American ships reported active problems in this regard. The environment of Clipperton Island has been studied extensively with the first recordings and sample collection being done in the 1800s. Modern research on Clipperton is focused primarily on climate science and migratory wildlife. The SURPACLIP oceanographic expedition, a joint undertaking by the National Autonomous University of Mexico and
5480-551: The 1990s and 2000s, violent confrontations between parts of the local population and the Galápagos National Park Service occurred, including capturing and killing giant tortoises and holding staff of the Galápagos National Park Service hostage to obtain higher annual sea cucumber quotas. In May 2023, Credit Suisse said it would buy Ecuador's debt of $ 1.6 billion in a " Debt-for-nature swap ". It will sell 2035 and 2040 bonds for Galapagos conservation at
5617-549: The British crew, mentioning in passing that the tortoises of the different islands could be easily identified by their different shells. By the end of his voyage, Darwin was beginning to wonder if the distribution of the mockingbirds and the tortoises might "undermine the stability of Species ". Upon his return to England, analysis of the bird specimens he had collected showed that what had appeared to be many different species were actually finches displaying developments unique to
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5754-670: The Clipperton EEZ during the Passion 2015 expedition. The island is an overseas state private property of France under direct authority of the Minister of the Overseas . Although the island is French territory, it has no status within the European Union. Ownership of Clipperton Island was disputed in the 19th and early 20th centuries between France and Mexico , but was finally settled through arbitration in 1931;
5891-685: The East Pacific, 1,080 km (583 nmi ) southwest of Mexico, 2,424 km (1,309 nmi) west of Nicaragua , 2,545 km (1,374 nmi) west of Costa Rica and 2,390 km (1,290 nmi) northwest of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador . The nearest land is Socorro Island , about 945 km (510 nmi ) to the northwest in the Revillagigedo Archipelago . The nearest French-owned island
6028-499: The French protectorate of Tahiti in 1858. Despite this, American guano miners began working the island in the early 1890s. As interest in the island grew, Mexico asserted a claim to the island based upon Spanish records from the 1520s that may have identified the island. Mexico established a small military colony on the island in 1905, but during the Mexican Revolution contact with the mainland became infrequent, most of
6165-597: The French that they did not intend to assert American sovereignty over the island. A few weeks later, on 13 December 1897, Mexico sent the gunboat La Demócrata and a group of marines to assert its claim on the island, evicting the Americans, raising the Mexican flag, and drawing a protest from France. From 1898 to 1905, the Pacific Islands Company worked the Clipperton guano deposits under
6302-479: The Galápagos Archipelago are closer volcano spacing, smaller volcano sizes, and larger calderas . For instance, Isabela Island includes six major volcanoes, Ecuador, Wolf, Darwin, Alcedo, Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul, with most recent eruptions ranging from 1813 to 2008. The neighboring islands of Santiago and Fernandina last erupted in 1906 and 2009, respectively. Overall, the nine active volcanoes in
6439-637: The Galápagos Platform. Fernandina and Isabela in particular are aligned along these weaknesses. Lacking a well-defined rift zone , the islands have a high rate of inflation prior to eruption. Sierra Negra on Isabela Island experienced a 240 cm (94 in) uplift between 1992 and 1998, most recent eruption in 2005, while Fernandina on Fernandina Island indicated an uplift of 90 cm (35 in), most recent eruption in 2009. Alcedo on Isabela Island had an uplift of greater than 90 cm, most recent eruption in 1993. Additional characteristics of
6576-408: The Galápagos collecting scientific material on geology, entomology , ornithology , botany , zoology , and herpetology . Another expedition from that Academy was done in 1932 (Templeton Crocker Expedition) to collect insects, fish, shells , fossils , birds, and plants. For a long time during the early 1900s and at least through 1929, a cash-strapped Ecuador had reached out for potential buyers of
6713-473: The Galápagos for these purposes on its way to the Offshore Grounds. On Colnett's Charles Island, while most of the crew were hunting tortoises one crewmember, English boatsteerer Thomas Chappel—for reasons still unclear—lit a fire which quickly burned out of control. Some of the tortoise hunters had a narrow escape and had to run a gauntlet of fire to get back to the ship. Soon almost the entire island
6850-498: The Galápagos tortoises to extract their fat. The tortoises could be kept on board ship as a means of providing of fresh protein, as these animals could survive for several months on board without any food or water. The hunting of the tortoises was responsible for greatly diminishing, and in some cases eliminating, certain species. Along with whalers came the fur-seal hunters, who brought the population of this animal close to extinction. The first known permanent human resident on Galápagos
6987-531: The Galápagos, would be of great benefit since the geopolitical situation of Chile was expected to drastically change when the Panama Canal opened. Another benefit would be to widen the security radius of Chile. Chile was alarmed by the United States plans to establish a Guantanamo-like base in the Galápagos Islands since it would mean that Chile's nitrate-rich northern provinces would be within
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#17327759276297124-646: The Italian king biased towards France, consulted international experts on the validity of the decision, but ultimately Mexico accepted Victor Emmanuel's findings. The Mexican press at the time raised the issue of the Monroe Doctrine with the United States, stating that the French claim had preceded its issuance. France formally took possession of Clipperton on January 26, 1935. Gal%C3%A1pagos Islands The Galápagos Islands ( Spanish : Islas Galápagos ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands in
7261-724: The Lands of the World ( Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ), first published in 1570. The islands were also previously known as the Enchanted Isles or Islands ( Islas Encantadas ) from sailors' difficulty with the winds and currents around them; as the Ecuador Archipelago ( Archipiélago de Ecuador ) or Archipelago of the Equator ( Archipiélago del Ecuador ) following their settlement by Ecuador in 1832; and as
7398-626: The Oceanic Phosphate Company began negotiations with the British Pacific Islands Company to transfer its interest in Clipperton; this drew the attention of both French and Mexican officials. On 24 November 1897, French naval authorities arrived on the Duguay Trouin and found three Americans working on the island. The French ordered the American flag to be lowered. At that time, U.S. authorities assured
7535-643: The South Pacific Ocean, however. The Galápagos Archipelago consists of 7,880 km (3,040 sq mi) of land spread over 45,000 km (17,000 sq mi) of ocean. The largest of the islands, Isabela, measures 2,250 square miles (5,800 km ) and makes up close to three-quarters of the total land area of the Galápagos. Volcán Wolf on Isabela is the highest point, with an elevation of 1,707 m (5,600 ft) above sea level . The group consists of 18 main islands, 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets . The islands are located at
7672-586: The South Pacific that was discovered with a human population was Easter Island , whose Rapa Nui people are known to be Polynesian rather than South American. In 1572, the Spanish chronicler Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa claimed that Topa Inca Yupanqui , the second Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire , had visited the archipelago. There is, however, little evidence for this and many experts consider it
7809-502: The Spanish arrived in the 16th century. A 2016 reanalysis of Heyerdahl and Skjølsvold's archaeological sites rejected their conclusions. They found that—at all locations excavated by the 1952 survey—artifacts of Indian and European origin were interspersed without the distinct spatial or stratigraphic arrangement that would be expected from independent sequential deposition. (Heyerdahl and Skjølsvold had noted this in their original report while ignoring its implications.) Radiocarbon dates from
7946-517: The aforementioned locations established a geographic triangle of protection in charge of patrolling the Pacific for enemy submarines, and also provided protection for the Panama Canal . After the war, the facilities were given to the government of Ecuador. Today, the island continues as an official Ecuadorian military base. The foundations and other remains of the US base can still be seen as one crosses
8083-488: The archipelago have erupted 24 times between 1961 and 2011. The shape of these volcanoes is tall and rounded as opposed to wide and smooth in the Hawaiian Islands. The Galápagos's shape is due to the pattern of radial and circumferential fissure , radial on the flanks, but circumferential near the caldera summits. It is the circumferential fissures which give rise to stacks of short lava flows . The volcanoes at
8220-546: The area are infrequent, this includes a significant amount of illegal fishing, along with lobster harvesting and shark finning , resulting in estimated losses for France of €0.42 per kilogram of fish caught. As deep-sea mining of polymetallic nodules increases in the adjacent Clarion–Clipperton Zone , similar mining activity within France's exclusive economic zone surrounding the atoll may have an impact on marine life around Clipperton. Polymetallic nodules were discovered in
8357-411: The area as evident by fossilized specimens. Studies of the water have found that microbial communities on the water's surface are similar to other water samples from around the world with deeper water samples showing a great diversity of both bacteria and archaea . In 2005, a group of French scientists discovered three dinoflagellate microalgae species in the lagoon: Peridiniopsis cristata , which
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#17327759276298494-401: The area. Darwin's voyage on HMS Beagle was part of an extensive British survey of the coasts of South America. Ecuador , which won its independence from Spain in 1822 and left Gran Colombia in 1830, formally occupied and claimed the islands on 12 February 1832 while the voyage was ongoing. José de Villamil , the founder of the Ecuadorian Navy , led the push to colonize and settle
8631-462: The atoll, the most abundant plant species are Cenchrus echinatus , Sida rhombifolia , and Corchorus aestuans . These plants compose a shrub cover up to 30 cm (12 in ) in height, and are intermixed with Eclipta , Phyllanthus , and Solanum , as well as the taller Brassica juncea . The islets in the lagoon are primarily vegetated with Cyperaceae , Scrophulariaceae , and Ipomoea pes-caprae . A unique feature of Clipperton
8768-568: The booby". Thirteen species of birds are known to breed on the island and 26 others have been observed as visitors. The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of the large breeding colony of masked boobies, with 110,000 individual birds recorded. Observed bird species include white terns , masked boobies , sooty terns , brown boobies , brown noddies , black noddies , great frigatebirds , coots , martins (swallows), cuckoos , and yellow warblers . Ducks and moorhens have been reported in
8905-404: The chain are located in both the northern and southern hemispheres, with Volcán Wolf and Volcán Ecuador on Isla Isabela being directly on the equator. Española Island , the southernmost islet of the archipelago, and Darwin Island , the northernmost one, are spread out over a distance of 220 km (137 mi). The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) considers them wholly within
9042-401: The colonists died, and lighthouse keeper Victoriano Álvarez instituted a short, brutal reign as "king" of the island. Eleven survivors were rescued in 1917 and Clipperton was abandoned. The dispute between Mexico and France over Clipperton was taken to binding international arbitration in 1909. Victor Emmanuel III , King of Italy, was chosen as arbitrator and decided in 1931 that the island
9179-411: The continent to San Cristóbal Island a group of more than a hundred workers, and tried his luck at planting sugar cane. He ruled his plantation with an iron hand, which led to his assassination in 1904. In 1897, Antonio Gil began another plantation on Isabela Island. Over the course of a whole year, from September 1904, an expedition of the Academy of Sciences of California, led by Rollo Beck , stayed in
9316-417: The corridor. After France ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1996, they reaffirmed the exclusive economic zone off Clipperton island which had been established in 1976. After changes were made to the area nations were allowed to claim under the third convention of UNCLOS France in 2018 expanded the outer limits of the territorial sea to 22 km (12 nmi) and
9453-418: The crew observed the geology, plants, and wildlife on Floreana, Isabela, and Santiago before continuing on their round-the-world expedition on 20 October. The young naturalist Charles Darwin , primarily a geologist at the time, was struck by the many volcanic features they saw, later referring to the archipelago as "that land of craters". His study of several volcanic formations over the five weeks he stayed in
9590-725: The drier months. The prevailing winds are the southeast trade winds . The rainy season occurs from May to October, and the region is subject to tropical cyclones from April to September, but such storms often pass to the northeast of Clipperton. In 1997 Clipperton was in the path of the start of Hurricane Felicia , as well as Hurricane Sandra in 2015. In addition, Clipperton has been subjected to multiple tropical storms and depressions including Tropical Storm Andres in 2003. Surrounding ocean waters are warm, pushed by equatorial and counter-equatorial currents and have seen temperature increases due to global warming. When Snodgrass and Heller visited in 1898, they reported that "no land plant
9727-399: The eastern Pacific Ocean, 973 km (605 mi) off the west coast of South America. The majority of islands are also more broadly part of the South Pacific. The closest land mass is that of mainland Ecuador , the country to which they belong, 926 km (500 nmi) to the east. The islands are found at the coordinates 1°40'N–1°36'S, 89°16'–92°01'W. Straddling the equator, islands in
9864-401: The endemic sponges, collected during the 1938 visit, was named Callyspongia roosevelti in honor of Roosevelt. In April 2009, Steven Robinson, a tropical fish dealer from Hayward, California , traveled to Clipperton to collect Clipperton angelfish . Upon his return to the United States, he described the 52 illegally collected fish to federal wildlife authorities as king angelfish , not
10001-494: The era who might provide future patronage. In 1793, during the early French Revolutionary Wars , the British captain James Colnett described the flora and fauna of Galápagos and suggested the islands could be used as a base for whalers operating in the Pacific. Colnett improved upon Cowley's chart, coining additional names although accidentally transferring Cowley's Charles Island from Española to Floreana. Whalers and maritime fur traders killed and captured thousands of
10138-410: The especially wet year of 1969 shows the variation of precipitation in different places of Santa Cruz Island : Most of the Galápagos is covered in semi-desert vegetation, including shrublands, grasslands, and dry forest. A few of the islands have high-elevation areas with cooler temperatures and higher rainfall, which are home to humid-climate forests and shrublands, and montane grasslands ( pampas ) at
10275-647: The exclusive economic zone off Clipperton Island to 370 km (200 nmi), encompassing 431,273 square kilometres (166,515 sq mi) of ocean. On 21 February 2007, administration of Clipperton was transferred from the High Commissioner of the Republic in French Polynesia to the Minister of Overseas France. In 2015, French MP Philippe Folliot set foot on Clipperton becoming
10412-517: The first elected official from France to do so. Folliot noted that visiting Clipperton was something he had wanted to do since he was nine years old. Following the visit, Folliot reported to the National Assembly on the pressing need to reaffirm French sovereignty over the atoll and its surrounding maritime claims. He also proposed establishing an international scientific research station on Clipperton and administrative reforms surrounding
10549-460: The first recorded landing on Clipperton, exploring the island and making a detailed report of its vegetation. The common name for the island comes from John Clipperton , an English pirate and privateer who fought the Spanish during the early 18th century, and who is said to have passed by the island. Some sources claim that he used it as a base for his raids on shipping. After its declaration of independence in 1821, Mexico took possession of
10686-499: The first time since 2005. Lava flows made their way to the coastline, prompting the evacuation of about fifty nearby residents and restricting tourist access. The 18 main islands (each having a land area at least 1 km ) of the archipelago (with their English names) shown alphabetically: Mosquera is also home to one of the largest colonies of sea lions in the Galapagos, and there have been occasional orca whale sightings around
10823-534: The globe. On 15 November 1528, Spaniard Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón discovered an island he called Isla Médanos in the region while on an expedition commissioned by his cousin, the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés , to find a route to the Philippines . Although both San Pablo and Isla Médanos are considered to be possible sightings of Clipperton, the island was first charted by French merchant Michel Dubocage , commanding La Découverte , who arrived at
10960-411: The highest concentration of endemic species found anywhere with more than 115 species identified. Many species are recorded in the area, including five or six endemics, such as Clipperton angelfish ( Holacanthus limbaughi ), Clipperton grouper ( Epinephelus clippertonensis ), Clipperton damselfish ( Stegastes baldwini ) and Robertson's wrasse ( Thalassoma robertsoni ). Widespread species around
11097-432: The highest elevations. There are about 500 species of native vascular plants on the islands, including 90 species of ferns. About 180 vascular plant species are endemic. The islands are well known for their distinctive endemic species, including giant tortoises , finches , flightless cormorants , Galápagos lava lizards and marine iguanas , which evolved to adapt to islands' environments. Whether Polynesians or
11234-402: The introduction of pigs and rats. Sea turtles found on the island appear to have been injured due to fishing practices. Morrell also reported fur and elephant seals on the island in 1825, but they too have not been recorded by later expeditions. Birds are common on the island; Morrell noted in 1825: "The whole island is literally covered with sea-birds, such as gulls, whale-birds, gannets, and
11371-608: The island and that the claim was not bonded as was required by law. Additionally during this time there were concerns in Mexico that the British or Americans would lay claim to the island. Despite the lack of U.S. approval of its claim, the Oceanic Phosphate Company began mining guano on the island in 1895. Although the company had plans for as many as 200 workers on the island, at its peak only 25 men were stationed there. The company shipped its guano to Honolulu and San Francisco where it sold for between US$ 10 and US$ 20 per ton. In 1897,
11508-490: The island are an important nursery for sharks, particularly the white tip shark . Galapagos sharks , reef sharks , whale sharks , and hammerhead sharks are also present around Clipperton. Three expeditions to Clipperton have collected sponge specimens, including U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt 's visit in 1938. Of the 190 specimens collected, 20 species were noted, including nine found only at Clipperton. One of
11645-407: The island in 1999 and 2000. The pigs introduced in the 1890s reduced the crab population, which in turn allowed grassland to gradually cover about 80 per cent of the land surface. The elimination of these pigs in 1958, the result of a personal project by Kenneth E. Stager , caused most of this vegetation to disappear as the population of land crabs recovered. As a result, Clipperton
11782-602: The island on Good Friday , 3 April 1711; he was joined the following day by fellow ship captain Martin de Chassiron [ fr ] and La Princesse . The island was given the name Île de la Passion ('Passion Island') as the date of rediscovery fell within Passiontide . They drew up the first map of the island and claimed it for France. In August 1825, American sea captain Benjamin Morrell made
11919-503: The island's highlands. The initial colonists who joined him were Ecuadorian soldiers—chiefly political prisoners —whose death sentences were commuted in exchange for their agreement to permanently settle the islands with their families. They were joined in October by additional artisans and farmers, bringing the population to about 120, at which point Villamil was formally made the area's first governor. Villamil's lieutenant governor
12056-531: The island's wildlife and marine life, including its significant masked and brown booby colonies. It has also hosted climate scientists and amateur radio DX-peditions . Plans to develop the island for trade and tourism have been considered, but none have been enacted and the island remains mostly uninhabited with periodic visits from the French navy. The coral island is located at 10°18′N 109°13′W / 10.300°N 109.217°W / 10.300; -109.217 ( Clipperton Island ) in
12193-485: The island, and lengthy diplomatic correspondence between the two countries led to a treaty on 2 March 1909, agreeing to seek binding international arbitration by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy , with each nation promising to abide by his determination. In 1931, Victor Emmanuel III issued his arbitral decision in the Clipperton Island Case , declaring Clipperton a French possession. Mexican President Pascual Ortiz Rubio , in response to public opinion that considered
12330-558: The island. In 1892, a claim on the island was filed with the U.S. State Department under the U.S. Guano Islands Act by Frederick W. Permien of San Francisco on behalf of the Stonington Phosphate Company. In 1893, Permien transferred those rights to a new company, the Oceanic Phosphate Company. In response to the application, the State Department rejected the claim, noting France's prior claim on
12467-430: The island. In 1946, a penal colony was established on Isabela Island, but it was suspended in 1959. Galápagos National Park was established in 1959, with tourism starting to expand in the 1960s, imposing several restrictions upon the human population already living on the island. However, opportunities in the tourism, fishing, and farming industries attracted a mass of poor fishermen and farmers from mainland Ecuador. In
12604-508: The islands in 1684 while sailing on John Cook 's Batchelor's or Bachelor's Delight and John Eaton 's Nicholas as they raided Peruvian shipping. One cargo captured that year was 7–8 tuns of quince marmalade , whose remains scattered pottery around the islands. Publishing the first thorough chart of the islands, Cowley coined the English names for 16 of the islands, chiefly honoring English royalty, nobles, and Jamaican officials of
12741-432: The islands led to several important geological discoveries, including the first correct explanation for how volcanic tuff is formed. Darwin noticed the mockingbirds differed between islands, though he thought the birds now known as Darwin's finches were unrelated to each other and did not bother labelling them by island. Acting as governor of the islands while Villamil was on the mainland, Nicholas Lawson met Darwin and
12878-555: The islands seems to have limited settlement. The Spanish Empire similarly ignored the islands, although during the Golden Age of Piracy various pirates used the Galápagos as a base for raiding Spanish shipping along the Peruvian coast. The goats and black and brown rats introduced during this period greatly damaged the existing ecosystems of several islands. British sailors were chiefly responsible for exploring and mapping
13015-536: The islands their home. In 1972 a census in the archipelago recorded a population of 3,488. By the 1980s, this number had risen to more than 15,000 people, and in 2010 there were 25,124 people in the Galápagos. 2021 projected population was 40,685. Five of the islands are inhabited: Baltra , Floreana , Isabela , San Cristóbal , and Santa Cruz . Options for air travel to the Galápagos are limited to two islands: San Cristobal ( San Cristóbal Airport ) and Baltra ( Seymour Airport ). Private aircraft must use Baltra as it
13152-607: The islands to alleviate financial troubles at home. The US had repeatedly expressed its interest in buying the islands for military use as they were positioned strategically guarding the Panama Canal . Besides the United States, Japan , Germany and Chile also expressed interest in establishing bases in the islands at the turn of the century. Chile had previously acquired the Straits of Magellan and Easter Island for strategic reasons and lieutenant Gregorio Santa Cruz argued in 1903 that possessing an island in equatorial waters, like
13289-460: The islands' two main seasons. The archipelago is mainly characterized by a mixture of a tropical savanna climate and a semi-arid climate , transitioning to a tropical rainforest climate in the northwest. During the rainy season known as the garúa from June to November, the temperature near the sea is around 22 °C (72 °F), a steady cool wind blows from south and southeast, frequent drizzles ( garúas ) for days, and dense fog conceals
13426-656: The islands, gradually supplanting the English names of the major islands with Spanish ones. The United States built the islands' first airport as a base to protect the western approaches of the Panama Canal in the 1930s. After World War II , its facilities were transferred to Ecuador. With the growing importance of ecotourism to the local economy , the airport modernized in the 2010s, using recycled materials for any expansion and shifting entirely to renewable energy sources to handle its roughly 300,000 visitors each year. The Galápagos or Galapagos Islands are named for their giant tortoises , which were more plentiful at
13563-829: The islands, seeking a simpler life. Descendants of the Norwegian Kastdalen family and the German Angermeyer still live on the islands. During World War II, Ecuador authorized the United States to establish a naval base in Baltra Island, and radar stations in other strategic locations. Baltra was established as a United States Army Air Force base. Baltra was given the name of "Beta Base" along with "Alpha Base" in Nicaragua and "Gamma Base" in Salinas (continental Ecuador). The Crews stationed at Baltra and
13700-410: The islands. During the warm season from December to May, the average sea and air temperatures rise to around 25 °C (77 °F), there is no wind at all, and the sun shines apart from sporadic strong downpours. Weather also changes as altitude increases on the larger islands. Temperature decreases gradually with altitude, while precipitation increases due to the condensation of moisture from clouds on
13837-615: The islands. The voyage became crucial in Darwin's development of his theory of evolution of species by natural selection , presented in the 1859 On the Origin of Species . The Englishman William Gurney became mayor of a new settlement on Chatham Island in 1844. In April 1888 USS Albatross , a Navy-crewed research vessel assigned to the United States Fish Commission , briefly touched eight islands in
13974-552: The islet. As is usual in the archipelago, the islet is shared by many seabirds, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies and Sally Lightfoot crabs. Although the islands are located on the equator, the Humboldt Current brings cold water to them, causing frequent drizzles during most of the year. The weather is regularly influenced by the El Niño events, which occur every 3 to 7 years and bring warmer sea surface temperatures ,
14111-431: The lagoon and water caught from rain, no freshwater sources are known to exist. The island has a tropical oceanic climate, with average temperatures of 20–32 °C (68–90 °F ) and highs up to 37.8 °C (100.0 °F ). Annual rainfall is 3,000 to 5,000 millimetres (120 to 200 in), and the humidity level is generally between 85 per cent and 95 per cent with December to March being
14248-430: The lagoon measures 1.7 square kilometres (0.66 sq mi) in area with an average elevation of 2 m (6.6 ft ), although a small volcanic outcropping, referred to as Clipperton Rock ( Rocher de Clipperton ), rises to 29 m (95 ft ) on its southeast side. The surrounding 3.7-square-kilometre (1.4 sq mi) reef hosts an abundance of corals and is partly exposed at low tide. In 2001
14385-428: The lagoon water, while "muddy and dirty", was drinkable, despite not tasting very good. Several of the castaways drank it, with no apparent ill effects. Survivors of a Mexican military colony in 1917 (see below) indicated that they were dependent upon rain for their water supply, catching it in old boats. American servicemen on the island during World War II had to use evaporators to purify the lagoon's water. Aside from
14522-440: The lagoon with an oxic and brackish upper water layer and a deep sulfuric anoxic saline layer. At a depth of approximately 15 m (49 ft ) the water shifts with salinity rising and both pH and oxygen quickly decreasing. The deepest levels of the lagoon record waters enriched with hydrogen sulfide which prevent the growth of coral. Before the lagoon was closed off to seawater, coral and clams were able to survive in
14659-574: The lagoon. The coral reef on the north side of the island includes colonies more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high. The 2018 Tara Pacific expedition located five colonies of Millepora platyphylla at depths of 28–32 metres (92–105 ft), the first of this fire coral species known in the region. Among the Porites spp. stony corals, some bleaching was observed, along with other indications of disease or stress, including parasitic worms and microalgae. The reefs that surround Clipperton have some of
14796-525: The lands that had once belonged to Spain. As Spanish records noted the existence of the island as early as 1528, the territory was incorporated into Mexico. The Mexican constitution of 1917 explicitly includes the island, using the Spanish name La Pasión , as Mexican territory. This would be amended on January 18, 1934, after the sovereignty dispute over the island was settled in favor of France. — Mexican Constitution of 1917 In April 1858, French minister Eugène Rouher reached an agreement with
14933-684: The largely European expatriate residents at the time, which prompted the movies The Empress of Floreana and The Galápagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden . Ecuadorian laws provided all colonists with the possibility of receiving twenty hectares each of free land, the right to maintain their citizenship, freedom from taxation for the first ten years in Galápagos, and the right to hunt and fish freely on all uninhabited islands where they might settle. The first European colonists to arrive were Norwegians who settled briefly on Floreana, before moving on to San Cristobal and Santa Cruz. A few years later, other colonists from Europe, America and Ecuador started arriving on
15070-439: The maps of Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius around 1570. The first English captain to visit the Galápagos Islands was Richard Hawkins in 1593. Until the early 19th century, the archipelago was often used as a hideout by (mostly English) pirates who attacked Spanish treasure fleets carrying gold, silver, and supplies from Peru to Panama and Spain . The English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley thoroughly mapped
15207-428: The new whaling ground and the Galápagos Islands became a frequent stop for the whalers both before and after visiting what came to be known as the Offshore Grounds. This led to the establishment in the Galápagos Islands of a kind of unofficial "post office" where whaleships stopped to pick up and drop off letters as well as for provisioning and repairing. In October 1820, the whaleship Essex out of Nantucket stopped at
15344-444: The older islands have disappeared below the sea as they moved away from the mantle plume, the youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina , are still being formed. In April 2009, lava from the volcanic island Fernandina started flowing both towards the island's shoreline and into the center caldera. In late June 2018, Sierra Negra, one of five volcanoes on Isabela and one of the most active in the Galapagos archipelago, began erupting for
15481-494: The oversight of the atoll. In 2022, France passed legislation officially referring to the island as "La Passion–Clipperton". There are several claims to the first discovery of the island. The earliest recorded possible sighting is 24 January 1521 when Portuguese-born Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan discovered an island he named San Pablo after turning westward away from the American mainland during his circumnavigation of
15618-554: The package washed up after being discarded at sea. In April 2023, the Passion 23 mission by France's Armed Forces in the Antilles [ fr ] and the surveillance frigate Germinal collected more than 200 kilograms (440 lb) of plastic waste from the island's beaches along with a bale of cocaine. The Sea Around Us Project estimates the Clipperton EEZ produces a harvest of 50,000 metric tons (55,000 short tons) of fish per year; however, because French naval patrols in
15755-461: The precipitation over Charles Darwin Station on the southern coast of Santa Cruz was 249.0 mm (9.80 in), while on nearby Baltra Island the precipitation during the same month was only 137.6 mm (5.42 in). This is because Baltra is located behind Santa Cruz when the prevailing winds are southerly, causing more moisture to fall on the Santa Cruz highlands. The following table for
15892-544: The push to colonize and settle the islands before Ecuador's neighbors or the European empires could occupy them. He formed the Galapagos Settlement Company in mid-1831 and, with President Juan José Flores 's support, sent Col. Ignacio Hernández with a dozen craftsmen to begin the settlement on Charles Island —renamed "Floriana" in the president's honour—early the next year. Hernández conducted
16029-408: The range of United States Navy . Ecuador's staunch resistance to a US purchase or bases in the islands can be credited to Chilean diplomacy, which in turn was informally backed on this issue by Great Britain and Germany . In the 1920s and 1930s, a small wave of European settlers arrived in the islands. There occurred a series of unsolved disappearances on the island of Floreana in the 1930s among
16166-665: The rarer Clipperton angelfish, which he intended to sell for $ 10,000. On 15 December 2011, Robinson was sentenced to 45 days of incarceration, one year of probation, and a $ 2,000 fine. During the night of 10 February 2010, the Sichem Osprey , a Maltese chemical tanker , ran aground en route from the Panama Canal to South Korea . The 170 m (558 ft ) ship contained 10,513 metric tons (11,589 short tons) of xylene , 6,005 metric tons (6,619 short tons) of soybean oil, and 6,000 metric tons (6,600 short tons) of tallow. All 19 crew members were reported safe, and
16303-619: The reefs include Pacific creolefish , blue-and-gold snapper , and various species of goatfish . In the water column, trevallies are predominant, including black jacks , bigeye trevally , and bluefin trevally . Also common around Clipperton are black triggerfish ;, several species of groupers , including leather bass and starry groupers ; Mexican hogfish ; whitecheek , convict , and striped-fin surgeonfish ; yellow longnose and blacknosed butterflyfish ; coral hawkfish ; golden pufferfish ; Moorish idols ; parrotfish ; and moray eels, especially speckled moray eels . The waters around
16440-748: The second A does not change the name's pronunciation but moves the stress from the 3rd syllable to the 2nd.) It is usually read / ɡ ə ˈ l æ p ə ɡ ə s / in British English and / ɡ ə ˈ l ɑː p ə ɡ ə s / in American English . The name is first attested as the Spanish/Latin hybrid Insulae de los Galopegos ("Islands of the Turtles") on the map of the Americas in Abraham Ortelius 's Theater of
16577-445: The shallow parts of the lake contain eroded coral heads from when the lagoon was last connected with the ocean. During visits in 1897 and 1898 the depth at the middle of the lagoon was recorded as being between two inches and two feet due to the dead coral. The surface of the lagoon has a high concentration of phytoplankton that vary slightly with the seasons. As a result of this the water columns are stratified and do not mix leaving
16714-464: The sites placed them in the post-Spanish era and preliminary paleoenvironmental analysis showed no disturbance older than 500 years before present , suggesting no evidence from the survey that the islands were visited prior to their Spanish discovery in 1535. The authors suggested that native artifacts found by Heyerdahl and Skjølsvold had probably been brought as mementos or souvenirs at the time of Spanish occupation. A 2008 report by archeologists from
16851-536: The six to survive the journey. In 1818, the Nantucket whaleship Globe under Captain George Washington Gardner discovered a "mother lode" of sperm whales some thousand miles west of the South American coast approximately at the equator. He returned to Nantucket in 1820 with more than 2,000 barrels of sperm whale oil and the news of his discovery. This led to an influx of whaleships to exploit
16988-441: The slopes. This pattern of generally wet highlands and drier lowlands affects the plant life on the larger islands. The vegetation in the highlands tends to be green and lush, with tropical woodland in places. The lowland areas tend to have arid and semi-arid vegetation, with many thorny shrubs and cacti and areas of barren volcanic rock. Some islands also fall within the rain shadow of others during some seasons. During March 1969,
17125-415: The smaller islets. The Spanish names have varied over time, but the current official names have gradually supplanted the English ones for most of the major islands. Volcanism has been continuous on the Galápagos Islands for at least 20 million years, and perhaps even longer. The mantle plume beneath the east-ward moving Nazca plate (51 km/ myr ) has given rise to a 3-kilometre-thick platform under
17262-411: The territory. He arrived on Clipperton as governor later that year. By 1914 around 100 men, women, and children lived on the island, resupplied every two months by a ship from Acapulco . With the escalation of fighting in the Mexican Revolution , regular resupply visits ceased, and the inhabitants were left to their own devices. On 28 February 1914, the schooner Nokomis wrecked on Clipperton; with
17399-496: The time of their discovery. The Spanish word galápago derives from a pre-Roman Iberian word meaning " turtle ", the meaning it still has in most dialects . Within Ecuadorian Spanish , however, it is now also used to describe the islands' large tortoises. The islands' name is pronounced [ˈislas ɣaˈlapaɣos] in most dialects of Spanish but [ˈihlah ɣaˈlapaɣoh] by locals. (The accent over
17536-539: The vessel reported no leaks. The vessel was re-floated on 6 March and returned to service. In mid-March 2012, the crew from the Clipperton Project noted the widespread presence of refuse, particularly on the northeast shore, and around the Clipperton Rock. Debris, including plastic bottles and containers, create a potentially harmful environment for the island's flora and fauna. This trash
17673-551: The west end of the archipelago are in general, taller, younger, have well developed calderas, and are mostly composed of tholeiitic basalt , while those on the east are shorter, older, lack calderas, and have a more diverse composition. The ages of the islands, from west to east are 0.05 Ma for Fernandina, 0.65 Ma for Isabela, 1.10 Ma for Santiago, 1.7 Ma for Santa Cruz, 2.90 Ma for Santa Fe, and 3.2 Ma for San Cristobal. The calderas on Sierra Negra and Alcedo have active fault systems . The Sierra Negra fault
17810-483: The west, and narrowing to 45 m (148 ft ) in the north-east, where sea waves occasionally spill over into the lagoon. Ten islets are present in the lagoon, six of which are covered with vegetation, including the Egg Islands ( les îles aux Œufs ). The closure of the lagoon approximately 170 years ago and prevention of seawater from entering the lagoon has formed a meromictic lake . The bottom of
17947-518: Was Patrick Watkins , an Irish sailor who was marooned on the Floreana from 1807 to 1809. According to later accounts, Watkins managed to survive by hunting, growing vegetables and trading with visiting whalers before stealing a longboat from a whaling ship, impressing five of its crew as his "slaves", and navigating to Guayaquil on the Ecuadorian mainland. Watkins was the only one of
18084-436: Was French territory. Despite the ruling, Clipperton remained largely uninhabited until 1944 when the U.S. Navy established a weather station on the island to support its war efforts in the Pacific. France protested and, as concerns about Japanese activity in the eastern Pacific waned, the U.S. abandoned the site in late 1945. Since the end of World War II, Clipperton has primarily been the site for scientific expeditions to study
18221-526: Was abundant; Durinskia baltica , which was known to exist previously in other locations, but was new to Clipperton; and Peridiniopsis cristata var. tubulifera , which is unique to the island. The lagoon also harbours millions of isopods , which are reported to deliver a painful sting. While some sources have rated the lagoon water as non- potable , testimony from the crew of the tuna clipper M/V Monarch, stranded for 23 days in 1962 after their boat sank, indicates otherwise. Their report reveals that
18358-411: Was appointed governor of Clipperton. At first he was reluctant to accept the post, believing it amounted to exile from Mexico, but he relented after being told that Díaz had personally chosen him to protect Mexico's interests in the international conflict with France. It was also noted that because Arnaud spoke English, French, and Spanish, he would be well equipped to help protect Mexico's sovereignty over
18495-473: Was becalmed in the Doldrums . They found the islands they visited uninhabited and so arid and barren that two men and ten horses died for lack of fresh water and the rest were forced to subsist on cactus pads . The ship left them unclaimed and unsettled. Berlanga, however, wrote a brief account of the islands, their condition, and their main wildlife for Charles V . The Galápagos Islands first appeared on
18632-482: Was in flames. Crewmembers reported that after a day of sailing away they could still see the flames against the horizon. One crewmember who returned to the Galápagos several years afterward described the entire island as still a blackened wasteland. Ecuador won its independence from Spain in 1822 and seceded from Gran Colombia in 1830. Gen. José de Villamil , the founder of the Ecuadorian Navy , led
18769-582: Was the Norwegian -born American and Chilean sailor and shipwright Nicholas Oliver Lawson . Haven of Peace was originally successful and peaceful but, after being named a penal colony in March 1833, violence and costs began to rise. Villamil was faced with bankruptcy by 1837 and resigned his post, founding a colony of 21 on Indefatigable Island —renamed Bolivia—and leaving Lawson as its mayor. Gen. Villamil's successors—incompetent, strict, or both—prompted
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