1.
Atafu
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Atafu, formerly known as the Duke of York Group, is a group of 42 coral islets within Tokelau in the south Pacific Ocean,500 kilometres north of Samoa. Covering 2.5 square kilometres, it is the smallest of the three islands that constitute Tokelau, and is composed of an atoll surrounding a central lagoon, the atoll lies some 800 kilometres south of the equator at 8°35 South, 172°30 West. According to the 2006 census 524 people officially live on Atafu, of those present, 95% belong to the Congregational Church. The main settlement on the atoll is located on Atafu Island at the corner of the atoll. The Presbyterian church was established on the island in 1858, the first village on Atafu was established at the southern end of the islet, and residents built houses along the lagoon shore to receive the cooling trade winds. The men on Atafu are highly skilled at fishing, and they use traditional methods that are passed on from fathers to sons. They make highly effective lures, fish traps, nets, and seines and they also make well-crafted canoes, which are important vehicles for their fishing expeditions. Atafu lies in the Pacific hurricane belt, in January 1914, a massive storm demolished the church and most of the houses on the islands, and wiped out many of the coconut palms. The atoll is roughly triangular in shape and encloses a lagoon some five kilometres north to south by four kilometres east to west at its widest point, lizards, rats, and seabirds are common on Atafu island. The atoll attracts a variety of fish in large numbers. The eastern side of the lagoon is a continuous thin strip of land with one small break halfway along its length. The smaller Tamaseko Island lies in the close to Alofi. The reef which connects the islands of the atoll is shallow enough that it is possible to walk between the islands at low tide and this also means that there is no boat passage to the lagoon, although the ocean becomes deep very close to the reef. This allows for good anchorage, but also makes for rough seas close to the reef, the flatness of the atoll and its location within the tropical cyclone belt has led to damage to island properties on occasion. It is likely that Polynesians visited the island in ancient times, the European discovery of the atoll came on 21 June 1765, by John Byron, of the HMS Dolphin. Byron found no-one living on the island at time. Atafu was established by Tonuia and his wife Lagimaina, along with their seven children, between 1856 and 1979, the United States claimed that it held sovereignty over the island and the other Tokelauan atolls. In 1979, the U. S. conceded that Tokelau was under New Zealand sovereignty, on 26 August 2007, the attempt by Ralph Tuijn to row from South America to Australia crashlanded on Atafu
2.
Tokelau
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Tokelau is an island country in the southern Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400. Its capital rotates yearly between the three atolls, Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands, Swains Island being the nearest, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands. Until 1976, the name was Tokelau Islands. Tokelau is a leader in energy, being the first 100% solar powered nation in the world. Tokelau is a free and democratic nation with elections every three years, all run as independents, there are no political parties in Tokelau. The most spoken language in Tokelau is Tokelauan, at 93. 5%, a dependent territory of New Zealand, it is sometimes referred to by its older colonial name, the Union Islands. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly designated Tokelau a non-self-governing territory, however, Tokelau is officially referred to as a nation by both the New Zealand government and the Tokelauan government. The basis of Tokelaus legislative, administrative and judicial systems is the Tokelau Islands Act 1948, in 1992, the head of government was established, who is elected every 3 years. The national anthem is God Save the Queen, nonetheless, Tokelau continues to decrease in population. The largest settlement in Tokelau is Fale, Tokelau has the smallest economy in the world and has a life expectancy of 69, comparable with other Oceanian island nations. The name Tokelau is a Polynesian word meaning north wind, the islands were named the Union Islands and Union Group by European explorers at an unknown time. Tokelau Islands was adopted as the name in 1946, and was contracted to Tokelau on 9 December 1976, Tokelau includes three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean between longitudes 171° and 173° W and between latitudes 8° and 10° S, about midway between Hawaii and New Zealand. They lie about 500 kilometres north of Samoa, the atolls are Atafu, Nukunonu, both in a group of islands once called the Duke of Clarence Group, and Fakaofo, once Bowditch Island. Their combined land area is 10.8 km2, the atolls each have a number of coral islands, where the villages are situated. The highest point of Tokelau is just 5 metres above sea level, there are no ports or harbours for large vessels, however, all three atolls have a jetty to and from which supplies and passengers are shipped. Tokelau lies in the Pacific tropical cyclone belt, Swains Island was claimed by the United States pursuant to the Guano Islands Act, as were the other three islands of Tokelau, which claims were ceded to Tokelau by treaty in 1979. This established a defined boundary between American Samoa and Tokelau. Tokelauans have proved reluctant to push their national identity in the political realm
3.
Coral reef
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Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals. Coral reefs are built by colonies of tiny animals found in waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups, the polyps belong to a group of animals known as Cnidaria, which also includes sea anemones and jellyfish. Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which support, most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters. Often called rainforests of the sea, shallow coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, paradoxically, coral reefs flourish even though they are surrounded by ocean waters that provide few nutrients. They are most commonly found at depths in tropical waters. Coral reefs deliver ecosystem services to tourism, fisheries and shoreline protection, the annual global economic value of coral reefs is estimated between US$29. 8-375 billion. However, coral reefs are fragile ecosystems, partly because they are sensitive to water temperature. Most of the coral reefs we can see today were formed after the last glacial period when melting ice caused the sea level to rise and this means that most modern coral reefs are less than 10,000 years old. As communities established themselves on the shelves, the reefs grew upwards, Reefs that rose too slowly could become drowned reefs. They are covered by so much water there was insufficient light. Coral reefs are found in the sea away from continental shelves, around oceanic islands. The vast majority of islands are volcanic in origin. The few exceptions have tectonic origins where plate movements have lifted the deep ocean floor on the surface. In 1842 in his first monograph, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, Charles Darwin set out his theory of the formation of atoll reefs and he theorized uplift and subsidence of the Earths crust under the oceans formed the atolls. Darwin’s theory sets out a sequence of three stages in atoll formation and it starts with a fringing reef forming around an extinct volcanic island as the island and ocean floor subsides. As the subsidence continues, the reef becomes a barrier reef. Darwin predicted that underneath each lagoon would be a bed rock base, where the level of the underlying earth allows, the corals grow around the coast to form what he called fringing reefs, and can eventually grow out from the shore to become a barrier reef
4.
Lagoon
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A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or reefs. Lagoons are commonly divided into coastal lagoons and atoll lagoons and they have also been identified as occurring on mixed-sand and gravel coastlines. There is an overlap between bodies of water classified as coastal lagoons and bodies of water classified as estuaries, lagoons are common coastal features around many parts of the world. Lagoons can also be man-made and used for treatment, as is the case for e. g. aerated lagoons. Lagoons are shallow, often elongated bodies of water separated from a body of water by a shallow or exposed shoal, coral reef. Some authorities include fresh water bodies in the definition of lagoon, the distinction between lagoon and estuary also varies between authorities. Richard A. Davis Jr. restricts lagoon to bodies of water with little or no fresh water inflow, and little or no tidal flow, Davis does state that the terms lagoon and estuary are often loosely applied, even in scientific literature. Timothy M. Kusky characterizes lagoons as normally being elongated parallel to the coast, while estuaries are usually drowned river valleys, coastal lagoons are classified as inland bodies of water. Many lagoons do not include lagoon in their common names, in England, The Fleet at Chesil Beach has also been described as a lagoon. In Latin America, the term laguna in Spanish, which translates to. However, sometimes it is used to describe a full-sized lake, such as Laguna Catemaco in Mexico. The brackish water lagoon may be explicitly identified as a coastal lagoon. In Portuguese the same usage is found, lagoa may be a body of sea water. Lagoon is derived from the Italian laguna, which refers to the waters around Venice, Laguna is attested in English by at least 1612, and had been Anglicized to lagune by 1673. In 1697 William Dampier referred to a Lagune or Lake of Salt water on the coast of Mexico, captain James Cook described an island of Oval form with a Lagoon in the middle in 1769. Atoll lagoons form as coral reefs grow upwards while the islands that the reefs surround subside, unlike the lagoons that form shoreward of fringing reefs, atoll lagoons often contain some deep portions. Coastal lagoons form along gently sloping coasts where barrier islands or reefs can develop off-shore, coastal lagoons do not form along steep or rocky coasts, or if the range of tides is more than 4 metres. Due to the slope of the coast, coastal lagoons are shallow
5.
Seamount
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A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the waters surface, and thus is not an island. Seamounts are typically formed from volcanoes that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from the seafloor to 1. They are defined by oceanographers as independent features that rise to at least 1,000 m above the seafloor, the peaks are often found hundreds to thousands of meters below the surface, and are therefore considered to be within the deep sea. During their evolution over time, the largest seamounts may reach the sea surface where wave action erodes the summit to form a flat surface. Seamounts and guyots are most abundant in the North Pacific Ocean, in recent years, several active seamounts have been observed, for example Loihi in the Hawaiian Islands. Because of their abundance, seamounts are one of the most common marine ecosystems in the world, interactions between seamounts and underwater currents, as well as their elevated position in the water, attract plankton, corals, fish, and marine mammals alike. Their aggregational effect has been noted by the fishing industry. There are ongoing concerns on the impact of fishing on seamount ecosystems. 95% of ecological damage is done by bottom trawling, which scrapes whole ecosystems off seamounts, because of their large numbers, many seamounts remain to be properly studied, and even mapped. Bathymetry and satellite altimetry are two technologies working to close the gap, there have been instances where naval vessels have collided with uncharted seamounts, for example, Muirfield Seamount is named after the ship that struck it in 1973. Seamounts can be found in every ocean basin in the world, a seamount is technically defined as an isolated rise in elevation of 1,000 m or more from the surrounding seafloor, and with a limited summit area, of conical form. If small knolls, ridges and hills less than 1,000 m in height are included there are over 100,000 seamounts in the world ocean. Most seamounts are volcanic in origin, and thus tend to be found on oceanic crust near mid-ocean ridges, mantle plumes, and island arcs. Overall, seamount and guyot coverage is greatest as a proportion of area in the North Pacific Ocean. The Arctic Ocean has only 16 seamounts and no guyots, the 9,951 seamounts mapped cover an area of 8,088,550 km2. The largest seamount has an area of 15,500 km2, guyots cover a total area of 707,600 km2 and have an average area of 2,500 km2, more than twice the average size of seamounts. Nearly 50% of guyot area and 42% of the number of guyots occur in the North Pacific Ocean, the largest three guyots are all in the North Pacific, the Kuko Guyot, Suiko Guyot and the Pallada Guyot. Seamount chain redirects here, for a broader coverage related to this topic, Seamounts are often found in groupings or submerged archipelagos, a classic example being the Emperor Seamounts, an extension of the Hawaiian Islands
6.
Volcano
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A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. Earths volcanoes occur because its crust is broken into 17 major, therefore, on Earth, volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging. This type of volcanism falls under the umbrella of plate hypothesis volcanism, Volcanism away from plate boundaries has also been explained as mantle plumes. These so-called hotspots, for example Hawaii, are postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs with magma from the boundary,3,000 km deep in the Earth. Volcanoes are usually not created where two plates slide past one another. Erupting volcanoes can pose hazards, not only in the immediate vicinity of the eruption. Historically, so-called volcanic winters have caused catastrophic famines, the word volcano is derived from the name of Vulcano, a volcanic island in the Aeolian Islands of Italy whose name in turn comes from Vulcan, the god of fire in Roman mythology. The study of volcanoes is called volcanology, sometimes spelled vulcanology, at the mid-oceanic ridges, two tectonic plates diverge from one another as new oceanic crust is formed by the cooling and solidifying of hot molten rock. Most divergent plate boundaries are at the bottom of the oceans, therefore, most volcanic activity is submarine, black smokers are evidence of this kind of volcanic activity. Where the mid-oceanic ridge is above sea-level, volcanic islands are formed, for example, subduction zones are places where two plates, usually an oceanic plate and a continental plate, collide. In this case, the plate subducts, or submerges under the continental plate forming a deep ocean trench just offshore. In a process called flux melting, water released from the subducting plate lowers the temperature of the overlying mantle wedge. This magma tends to be very viscous due to its high content, so it often does not reach the surface. When it does reach the surface, a volcano is formed, typical examples of this kind of volcano are Mount Etna and the volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Because tectonic plates move across them, each volcano becomes dormant and is eventually re-formed as the plate advances over the postulated plume and this theory is currently under criticism, however. The most common perception of a volcano is of a mountain, spewing lava and poisonous gases from a crater at its summit, however. The features of volcanoes are more complicated and their structure. Some volcanoes have rugged peaks formed by lava domes rather than a summit crater while others have features such as massive plateaus
7.
Caldera
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A caldera is a large cauldron-like depression that forms following the evacuation of a magma chamber/reservoir. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a time period. The ground surface then collapses downward into the emptied magma chamber. Although sometimes described as a crater, the feature is actually a type of sinkhole, as it is formed through subsidence, only seven known caldera-forming collapses have occurred since the start of the 20th century, most recently at Bárðarbunga volcano in Iceland. The word comes from Spanish caldera, and this from Latin caldaria, in some texts the English term cauldron is also used. If enough magma is ejected, the chamber is unable to support the weight of the volcanic edifice above it. A roughly circular fracture, the fault, develops around the edge of the chamber. Ring fractures serve as feeders for fault intrusions which are known as ring dykes. Secondary volcanic vents may form above the ring fracture, as the magma chamber empties, the center of the volcano within the ring fracture begins to collapse. The collapse may occur as the result of a cataclysmic eruption. The total area that collapses may be hundreds or thousands of square kilometers, some calderas are known to host rich ore deposits. One of the worlds best-preserved mineralized calderas is the Sturgeon Lake Caldera in northwestern Ontario, Canada, if the magma is rich in silica, the caldera is often filled in with ignimbrite, tuff, rhyolite, and other igneous rocks. Silica-rich magma has a high viscosity, and therefore does not flow easily like basalt, as a result, gases tend to become trapped at high pressure within the magma. Further lava flows may be erupted, if volcanic activity continues, the center of the caldera may be uplifted in the form of a resurgent dome such as is seen at Cerro Galán, Lake Toba, Yellowstone, etc. by subsequent intrusion of magma. A silicic or rhyolitic caldera may erupt hundreds or even thousands of kilometers of material in a single event. Even small caldera-forming eruptions, such as Krakatoa in 1883 or Mount Pinatubo in 1991, may result in significant local destruction, large calderas may have even greater effects. When Yellowstone Caldera last erupted some 650,000 years ago, it released about 1,000 km3 of material, by comparison, when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, it released ~1.2 km3 of ejecta. The ecological effects of the eruption of a large caldera can be seen in the record of the Lake Toba eruption in Indonesia, more recently several geneticists, including Lynn Jorde and Henry Harpending have proposed that the human species was reduced to approximately five to ten thousand people
8.
Dhivehi language
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Maldivian is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Maldives, where it is the national language. It is also the first language of nearly 10,000 people on the island of Minicoy in the Union territory of Lakshadweep, India, where the Mahl dialect of the Maldivian language is spoken. The ethnic autonym for the language, Divehi, is found in English as Dhivehi. Maldivian is written in the Thaana script, the major dialects of Maldivian are Malé, Huvadhu, Mulaku, Addu, Haddhunmathee, and Maliku. The standard form of Maldivian is Malé, which is spoken in the Maldivian capital of the same name, the Maliku dialect spoken in Minicoy is officially referred to as Mahl by the Lakshadweep administration. This has been adopted by many authors when referring to Maldivian spoken in Minicoy, Maldivian is a descendent of Maharashtri Prakrit and is closely related to the Marathi, Konkani and Sinhalese languages, but not mutually intelligible with them. Many languages have influenced the development of the Maldivian language through the ages, others include French, Persian, Portuguese, Hindustani, and English. The English words atoll and dhoni are anglicised forms of the Maldivian words atoḷu, the origin of the word Divehi is Div+vehi meaning Islanders. Bas means language, so Divehi-bas means Islanders language, harry Charles Purvis Bell, one of the first Dhivehi linguists, called it Divehi. This was consistent with Maldives, the name of the country, for the -dives of Maldives, Wilhelm Geiger, a German linguist who undertook the first research on Maldivian linguistics in the early 20th century, also called the language Divehi. An h was added to the name of the language— Dhivehi— in 1976, today the spelling with an h is both common and official usage in the Maldives. Maldivian is an Indo-Aryan language closely related to the Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka, Maldivian represents the southernmost Indo-Aryan language. Together with Sinhala, Maldivian represents a subgroup within the Modern Indo-Aryan languages which is called Insular Indo-Aryan, however, Sinhala and Maldivian are not mutually intelligible. Maldivian is descended from the Maharashtri Prakrit of ancient and medieval India and these Prakrits were originally derived from Old Indo-Aryan vernaculars related to Vedic Sanskrit. Maldivian has a written history of about eight hundred years. The earliest writings were on the lōmāfānu of the 12th and 13th centuries, early inscriptions on coral stone have also been found. The oldest inscription found to date is an inscription on a coral stone, Maldivian is an Indo-Aryan language of the Sinhalese-Maldivian subfamily. It developed in isolation from other languages until the 12th century
9.
Indo-Aryan language
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The Indo-Aryan or Indic languages are the dominant language family of the Indian subcontinent. They constitute a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family, Indo-Aryan speakers form about one half of all Indo-European speakers, and more than half of all Indo-European languages recognized by Ethnologue. While the languages are spoken in South Asia, pockets of Indo-Aryan languages are found to be spoken in Europe. The largest in terms of speakers are Hindustani, Bengali, Punjabi. Proto-Indo-Aryan, or sometimes Proto-Indic, is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Aryan languages and it is intended to reconstruct the language of the Proto-Indo-Aryans. Proto-Indo-Aryan is meant to be the predecessor of Old Indo-Aryan which is attested as Vedic. Despite the great archaicity of Vedic, however, the other Indo-Aryan languages preserve a number of archaic features lost in Vedic. Vedic has been used in the ancient preserved religious hymns, the canon of Hinduism known as the Vedas. Mitanni-Aryan is of age to the language of the Rigveda. The language of the Vedas – commonly referred to as Vedic Sanskrit by modern scholars – is only marginally different from Proto-Indo-Aryan the proto-language of the Indo-Aryan languages. From the Vedic, Sanskrit developed as the language of culture, science and religion, as well as the court, theatre. Sanskrit is, by convention, referred to by scholars as Classical Sanskrit in contra-distinction to the so-called Vedic Sanskrit. Outside the learned sphere of Sanskrit, vernacular dialects continued to evolve, the oldest attested Prakrits are the Buddhist and Jain canonical languages Pali and Ardha Magadhi, respectively. By medieval times, the Prakrits had diversified into various Middle Indo-Aryan dialects, Apabhramsa is the conventional cover term for transitional dialects connecting late Middle Indo-Aryan with early Modern Indo-Aryan, spanning roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. Some of these dialects showed considerable literary production, the Sravakachar of Devasena is now considered to be the first Hindi book, the next major milestone occurred with the Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent in the 13th–16th centuries. Under the flourishing Turco-Mongol Mughal empire, Persian became very influential as the language of prestige of the Islamic courts due to adoptation of the language by the Mughal emperors. However, Persian was soon displaced by Hindustani and this Indo-Aryan language is a combination with Persian, Arabic, and Turkic elements in its vocabulary, with the grammar of the local dialects. The two largest languages that formed from Apabhramsa were Bengali and Hindustani, others include Sindhi, Gujarati, Odia, Marathi, the Indo-Aryan languages of Northern India and Pakistan form a dialect continuum
10.
Maldives
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The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is a South Asian island country, located in the Indian Ocean, situated in the Arabian Sea. It lies southwest of India and Sri Lanka, the chain of twenty-six atolls stretches from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to the Addu City in the south. Malé is the capital and most populated city, traditionally called the Kings Island for its central location. With an average elevation of 1.5 metres above sea level, it is the worlds lowest country, with even its highest natural point being the lowest in the world. Due to the subsequent risks posed by rising sea-levels, the government pledged in 2009 to make the Maldives a carbon-neutral country by 2019, the Maldives have been historically and culturally linked to the Indian subcontinent since the fourth century BCE. The Maldivian archipelago was Islamised in the 12th century and consolidated as a sultanate, developing commercial and cultural ties with Asia. From the mid 16th-century, the region came under the influence of European colonial powers. Independence from the United Kingdom was achieved in 1965 and a republic was established in 1968 with an elected Peoples Majlis. The ensuing decades have been characterised by political instability, efforts at democratic reform, the Maldives is a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. It is also a member of the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the World Bank classifies the Maldives as having an upper middle income economy. Fishing has historically been the dominant economic activity, and remains the largest sector by far, along with Sri Lanka, it is one of only two South Asian countries rated high on the Human Development Index, with its per capita income the highest among SAARC nations. The name Maldives may derive from the Malayalam words maala and dweepu or the Tamil maalai and theevu, the Maldivian people are called Dhivehin. The word theevu means island, and Dhives means islanders, the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle Mahawamsa refers to an island called Mahiladiva in Pali, which is probably a mistranslation of the same Sanskrit word meaning garland. Jan S Hogendorn, Grossman Professor of Economics, theorises that the name Maldives derives from the Sanskrit mālādvīpa, in Tamil, Garland of Islands can be translated as Malai Theevu. In Malayalam, Garland of Islands can be translated as Maladweepu, in Kannada, Garland of Islands can be translated as Maaledweepa. This is the name inscribed on the scroll in the Maldive state emblem. The classical Persian/Arabic name for Maldives is Dibajat, the Dutch referred to the islands as the Maldivische Eilanden, while the British anglicised the local name for the islands first to the Maldive Islands and later to Maldives. One such community are the Giraavaru people and they are mentioned in ancient legends and local folklore about the establishment of the capital and kingly rule in Malé
11.
OED
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The Oxford English Dictionary is a descriptive dictionary of the English language, published by the Oxford University Press. The second edition came to 21,728 pages in 20 volumes, in 1895, the title The Oxford English Dictionary was first used unofficially on the covers of the series, and in 1928 the full dictionary was republished in ten bound volumes. In 1933, the title The Oxford English Dictionary fully replaced the name in all occurrences in its reprinting as twelve volumes with a one-volume supplement. More supplements came over the years until 1989, when the edition was published. Since 2000, an edition of the dictionary has been underway. The first electronic version of the dictionary was available in 1988. The online version has been available since 2000, and as of April 2014 was receiving two million hits per month. The third edition of the dictionary will probably appear in electronic form, Nigel Portwood, chief executive of Oxford University Press. As a historical dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary explains words by showing their development rather than merely their present-day usages, therefore, it shows definitions in the order that the sense of the word began being used, including word meanings which are no longer used. The format of the OEDs entries has influenced numerous other historical lexicography projects and this influenced later volumes of this and other lexicographical works. As of 30 November 2005, the Oxford English Dictionary contained approximately 301,100 main entries, the dictionarys latest, complete print edition was printed in 20 volumes, comprising 291,500 entries in 21,730 pages. The longest entry in the OED2 was for the verb set, as entries began to be revised for the OED3 in sequence starting from M, the longest entry became make in 2000, then put in 2007, then run in 2011. Despite its impressive size, the OED is neither the worlds largest nor the earliest exhaustive dictionary of a language, the Dutch dictionary Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal is the worlds largest dictionary, has similar aims to the OED and took twice as long to complete. Another earlier large dictionary is the Grimm brothers dictionary of the German language, begun in 1838, the official dictionary of Spanish is the Diccionario de la lengua española, and its first edition was published in 1780. The Kangxi dictionary of Chinese was published in 1716, trench suggested that a new, truly comprehensive dictionary was needed. On 7 January 1858, the Society formally adopted the idea of a new dictionary. Volunteer readers would be assigned particular books, copying passages illustrating word usage onto quotation slips, later the same year, the Society agreed to the project in principle, with the title A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. He withdrew and Herbert Coleridge became the first editor, on 12 May 1860, Coleridges dictionary plan was published and research was started
12.
Charles Darwin
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Charles Robert Darwin, FRS FRGS FLS FZS was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, by the 1870s, the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. In modified form, Darwins scientific discovery is the theory of the life sciences. Darwins early interest in nature led him to neglect his education at the University of Edinburgh, instead. Studies at the University of Cambridge encouraged his passion for natural science, puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin began detailed investigations and in 1838 conceived his theory of natural selection. Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists, he needed time for extensive research and he was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay that described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication of both of their theories. Darwins work established evolutionary descent with modification as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature, in 1871 he examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His research on plants was published in a series of books, Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and he was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey. Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, on 12 February 1809, at his familys home and he was the fifth of six children of wealthy society doctor and financier Robert Darwin and Susannah Darwin. He was the grandson of two prominent abolitionists, Erasmus Darwin on his fathers side, and Josiah Wedgwood on his mothers side, both families were largely Unitarian, though the Wedgwoods were adopting Anglicanism. The eight-year-old Charles already had a taste for history and collecting when he joined the day school run by its preacher in 1817. From September 1818, he joined his older brother Erasmus attending the nearby Anglican Shrewsbury School as a boarder and he found lectures dull and surgery distressing, so neglected his studies. He learned taxidermy in around 40 daily hour-long sessions from John Edmonstone, one day, Grant praised Lamarcks evolutionary ideas. Darwin was astonished by Grants audacity, but had recently read similar ideas in his grandfather Erasmus journals, Darwin was rather bored by Robert Jamesons natural-history course, which covered geology - including the debate between Neptunism and Plutonism. He learned the classification of plants, and assisted with work on the collections of the University Museum, as Darwin was unqualified for the Tripos, he joined the ordinary degree course in January 1828. He preferred riding and shooting to studying, when his own exams drew near, Darwin focused on his studies and was delighted by the language and logic of William Paleys Evidences of Christianity. In his final examination in January 1831 Darwin did well, coming out of 178 candidates for the ordinary degree. Darwin had to stay at Cambridge until June 1831, inspired with a burning zeal to contribute, Darwin planned to visit Tenerife with some classmates after graduation to study natural history in the tropics
13.
The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs
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FitzRoy chose to survey the Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean. The results supported Darwins theory that the types of coral reefs and atolls could be explained by uplift. In 1853, Darwin was awarded the Royal Societys Royal Medal for the monograph, when the Beagle set out in 1831, the formation of coral atolls was a scientific puzzle. In 1824 and 1825, French naturalists Quoy and Gaimard had observed that the organisms lived at relatively shallow depths. While these are quietly proceeding, and the rating, a very interesting inquiry might be instituted respecting the formation of these coral reefs. A modern and very plausible theory has been put forward, that these wonderful formations, FitzRoy gave Darwin the first volume of Lyells Principles of Geology before they left. Lyells first volume included an outline of the idea that atolls were based on volcanic craters, and the second volume. Darwin received it in November 1832, while the Beagle surveyed the coasts of South America from February 1832 to September 1835, Darwin made several trips inland and found extensive evidence that the continent was gradually rising. After witnessing an erupting volcano from the ship, he experienced the 1835 Concepción earthquake, in the following months he speculated that as the land was uplifted, large areas of the ocean bed subsided. It struck him that this could explain the formation of atolls, where the level of the underlying land stays the same, the corals grow around the coast to form what he called fringing reefs, and can eventually grow out from the shore to become a barrier reef. Where the land is rising, fringing reefs can grow around the coast, if the land subsides slowly, the fringing reefs keep pace by growing upwards on a base of dead coral, and form a barrier reef enclosing a lagoon between the reef and the land. A barrier reef can encircle an island, and once the island sinks below sea level a circular atoll of growing coral continues to keep up with the sea level. Should the land subside too quickly or sea level rise too fast, by the time that the Beagle set out for the Galápagos Islands on 7 September 1835, Darwin had thought out the essentials of his theory of atoll formation. He then considered a topic which was compatible with either theory, one possibility was a lack of calcareous matter around the islands, but his main proposal, which FitzRoy had suggested to him, was that the seas were too cold. As they sailed on, Darwin took note of the records of sea temperature kept in the ships Weather Journal and he had his first glimpse of coral atolls as they passed Honden Island on 9 November and sailed on through the Low or Dangerous Archipelago. Arriving at Tahiti on 15 November, Darwin saw it encircled by a Coral reef separated from the shore by channels & basins of still water, – Remove the central group of mountains, & there remains a Lagoon Isd. Rather than recording his findings about the coral reefs in his notes about the island, he wrote them up as the first full draft of his theory, an essay titled Coral Islands, dated 1835. They left Tahiti on 3 December, and Darwin probably wrote his essay as they sailed towards New Zealand where they arrived on 21 December
14.
Islet
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An islet is a very small island. As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of isle, use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability. Cay or Key – an islet formed by the accumulation of sand deposits atop a reef Motu – A reef islet formed by broken coral and sand. River island – A small islet within the current of a river, rock – A rock, in the sense of a type of islet, is an uninhabited landform composed of rock, lying offshore, and having at most minimal vegetation. Sandbar – An exposed sandbar is another type of islet, Sea stack – A thin, vertical landform jutting out of a body of water. Skerry – A small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation, subsidiary islets – A more technical application is to small land features, isolated by water, lying off the shore of a larger island. Likewise, any emergent land in an atoll is called an islet. Tidal island – Often small islands lie off the mainland of an area, being connected to it in low tide. In the Caribbean and West Atlantic, islets are often called cays or keys, rum Cay in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys off Florida are examples of islets. In the Channel Islands, they are identified by the suffix -hou from the Norse -holm. In Scotland and Ireland, they are often called inches, from the Gaelic innis, which originally meant island, in Ireland they are often termed skerries. In and around Polynesia, islets are widely known by the term motu, in and around the River Thames in England, small islands are known as aits or eyots. One long-term dispute over the status of such an islet was that of Snake Island, there are thousands of islets on Earth, approximately 24,000 islands and islets in the Stockholm archipelago alone. The following is a list of example islets from around the world, Islands or Rocks, Is that the Real Question. The Treatment of Islands in the Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries, in Myron H. Nordquist, John Norton Moore, Alfred H. A. The Law of the Sea Convention, US Accession and Globalization
15.
Detritus (biology)
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In biology, detritus is dead particulate organic material. It typically includes the bodies or fragments of organisms as well as fecal material. Detritus is typically colonized by communities of microorganisms which act to decompose the material, in terrestrial ecosystems, it is encountered as leaf litter and other organic matter intermixed with soil, which is referred to as humus. Detritus of aquatic ecosystems is organic material suspended in water and piles up on seabed floors which is referred to as marine snow. Dead plants or animals, material derived from animal tissues gradually lose their form, decomposition, the process through which organic matter is decomposed, takes place in many stages. Materials like proteins, lipids and sugars with low weight are rapidly consumed and absorbed by micro-organisms and organisms that feed on dead matter. Other compounds, such as complex carbohydrates are broken down more slowly, the various micro-organisms involved in the decomposition break down the organic materials in order to gain the resources they require for their own survival and proliferation. Accordingly, at the time that the materials of plants and animals are being broken down. In ecosystems on land, detritus is deposited on the surface of the ground, in aquatic ecosystems, most detritus is suspended in water, and gradually settles. In particular, many different types of material are collected together by currents, much detritus is used as a source of nutrition for animals. In particular, many bottom feeding animals living in mud flats feed in this way, however, there are many micro-organisms which multiply in natural environments. A characteristic type of food chain called the cycle takes place involving detritus feeders, detritus. For example, mud flats are inhabited by many univalves which are detritus feeders, what is left behind by the detritivores is then further broken down and recycled by decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi. In ecosystems on land, far more material is broken down as dead material passing through the detritus chain than is broken down by being eaten by animals in a living state. In both land and aquatic ecosystems, the role played by detritus is too large to ignore, in contrast to land ecosystems, dead materials and excreta in aquatic ecosystems do not settle immediately, and the finer the particles involved are, the longer they tend to take. Detritus occurs in a variety of habitats including forest, chaparral. In forests the detritus is typically dominated by leaf, twig and this plant litter provides important cover for seedling protection as well as cover for a variety of arthropods, reptiles and amphibians. Some insect larvae feed on the detritus, there is an extremely large number of detritus feeders in water
16.
Penrhyn (atoll)
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Penrhyn is an island in the northern group of the Cook Islands in the south Pacific Ocean. The northernmost island in the group, it is located at 1,365 km north-north-east of the island of Rarotonga,9 degrees south of the equator. Its nearest neighbours are Rakahanga, and Manihiki, approximately 322 kilometres to the southwest, Penrhyn is a roughly circular coral atoll with a circumference of approximately 77 km, enclosing a lagoon with an area of 233 square kilometres. The atoll is atop the highest submarine volcano in the Cook Islands, the atoll is low-lying, with a maximum elevation of less than 5 metres. The total land area was 9.84 square kilometres, the population according to the 2001 census was 351 inhabitants, with a decrease by 2011 to only 213 inhabitants. Academic research published by the Cook Islands Library and Museum says this is translated as Tonga floating in space, Tonga-in-the-skies. However, the most commonly used name in English is Penrhyn after the Lady Penrhyn commanded by Captain William Crofton Sever, another European name was Bennett Island. Lady Penrhyn was one of a fleet of 11 ships which sailed from the Isle of Wight to found the earliest convict colony in Australia. The main village of Omoka, seat of Penrhyn Island Council, is on Moananui Islet, on the rim of the atoll. The village of Te Tautua is on Pokerekere Islet, on the eastern rim, the inhabitants of the island are Christian, with 92% of the population belonging to the Cook Islands Christian Church while the remaining 8% adhere to the Roman Catholic Church. Polynesians are believed to have lived on Penrhyn since at least 900 or 1000 AD, following its discovery by Europeans, the Russian explorer Otto von Kotzebue visited the island in April 1816. He was followed by the American brig USS Purpose, under command of Lieutenant Commander Cadwalader Ringgold as part of the United States Exploring Expedition in February 1841, the brig Chatham under command of Edward Henry Lamont, ran aground at Penrhyn during a storm in January 1853. The London Missionary Society, which had begun missionary activities in the Cook Islands from 1821, robert Louis Stevenson visited Penrhyn in May 1890. In 1864, Penrhyn was almost completely depopulated by Peruvian expeditions, an estimated 1,000 men, women and children were taken to South America. Native pastors of the London Missionary Society had introduced Christianity from Rarotonga in 1854, the new religion had been accepted enthusiastically, and the villagers immediately started to build churches. Promises from the slavers of good pay and safe return offered a way to obtain money for churches, the missionaries accompanied the slaves to Peru as their interpreters, none of the stolen people ever returned. Penrhyn was officially annexed for Great Britain by Captain Sir William Wiseman of the HMS Caroline on 22 March 1888, the island was considered to have a strategic location on the route of a proposed Trans-Pacific telegraphic connection between Canada and Australia. The Cook Islands were a British protectorate 1888 to 1900, when annexed to New Zealand, from 1856 to 1980, the United States claimed sovereignty over the island under the Guano Islands Act
17.
NASA
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA in 1958 with a distinctly civilian orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29,1958, disestablishing NASAs predecessor, the new agency became operational on October 1,1958. Since that time, most US space exploration efforts have led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station. Currently, NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches. NASA shares data with various national and international such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite. Since 2011, NASA has been criticized for low cost efficiency, from 1946, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics had been experimenting with rocket planes such as the supersonic Bell X-1. In the early 1950s, there was challenge to launch a satellite for the International Geophysical Year. An effort for this was the American Project Vanguard, after the Soviet launch of the worlds first artificial satellite on October 4,1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. This led to an agreement that a new federal agency based on NACA was needed to conduct all non-military activity in space. The Advanced Research Projects Agency was created in February 1958 to develop technology for military application. On July 29,1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, a NASA seal was approved by President Eisenhower in 1959. Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the United States Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA, earlier research efforts within the US Air Force and many of ARPAs early space programs were also transferred to NASA. In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA has conducted many manned and unmanned spaceflight programs throughout its history. Some missions include both manned and unmanned aspects, such as the Galileo probe, which was deployed by astronauts in Earth orbit before being sent unmanned to Jupiter, the experimental rocket-powered aircraft programs started by NACA were extended by NASA as support for manned spaceflight. This was followed by a space capsule program, and in turn by a two-man capsule program. This goal was met in 1969 by the Apollo program, however, reduction of the perceived threat and changing political priorities almost immediately caused the termination of most of these plans. NASA turned its attention to an Apollo-derived temporary space laboratory, to date, NASA has launched a total of 166 manned space missions on rockets, and thirteen X-15 rocket flights above the USAF definition of spaceflight altitude,260,000 feet. The X-15 was an NACA experimental rocket-powered hypersonic research aircraft, developed in conjunction with the US Air Force, the design featured a slender fuselage with fairings along the side containing fuel and early computerized control systems
18.
Atolls of the Maldives
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The Maldives are formed by a number of natural atolls plus atolls in the form of a few islands and isolated reefs today which form a pattern stretching from 7 degrees 10 North to 0 degrees 45 South. The Maldives is a long and narrow country formed by 26 natural atolls, some atolls are in the form of a number of islands by time and in the form of isolated reefs, which could be classified as smaller atoll formations. All land above the surface in the Maldives is of coralline origin, the atolls of the Maldives form a quite regular chain and, especially in the northern and central atolls, an arrayed structure is apparent. There are broad and deep channels in some atolls. The origin of the atoll itself is in the language of the Maldives. Atoll is now used in languages worldwide. Traditionally, Maldivians call the ending in -madulu or -mathi by their name without adding the word Atoll at the end. For example, it is correct to write simply Kolhumadulhu, without adding the word Atholhu at the end and this is also the case in the atoll known as Faadhippolhu. The atolls of the Maldives are very complex structures and formerly they were dangerous for navigators. These Admiralty charts were printed as three separate large maps by the Hydrographic Service of the Royal Navy, although they contain a few errors, Moresbys charts were so good that they were favoured by Maldivian pilots navigating through the treacherous waters of their atolls until the 1990s. Nowadays there are more accurate maps of the Maldives based on satellite surveys, however, Maldivian navigators still claim that Commander Moresbys charts provide a wealth of data that the modern maps dont give. At the time that they were drawn, the maps of the Maldives were deemed of such a quality that they were inspected personally by Queen Victoria. Owing to the many beautiful diving grounds of the atolls of the Maldives. Hence, during the last couple of decades many guides and maps of the best diving spots have been published and some of them are very accurate, the list below is a description of the atolls of the Maldives. Ihavandhippolhu Atoll is the northernmost atoll in the Maldives and it is a small natural atoll 22 km in length. It has 25 islands lying all around the boundary reef, one long barrier reef forms the western side of the atoll. There are several coral patches in the lagoon and the depth in the centre is 20 to 30 fathoms. Ihavandhippolhu is bounded in the north by the channel known as Māmalē Kandu which separates the islands of Maldives from those belonging to India
19.
Nukuoro
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Nukuoro is an atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a municipality of the state of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, except for Kapingamarangi, it is the southernmost atoll of the country. As of 2007, Nukuoro had a population of 372, though several hundred Nukuorans live on Pohnpei. The total area, including the lagoon, is 40 km2, with an area of 1.7 km2, which is divided among more than 40 islets that lie on the northern, eastern. By far, the largest islet is Nukuoro islet, which is the center of population, the lagoon is 6 km in diameter. Fishing, animal husbandry, and agriculture are the main occupations, a recent project to farm black pearl oysters has been successful at generating additional income for the islands people. It has no airstrip, and a passenger boat calls irregularly only once every few months, the island has no tourism except for the occasional visit by passing sailing yachts. There is a 4-room schoolhouse but children over the age of 14 must travel to Pohnpei to attend high school, the inhabitants speak Nukuoro, which is a Polynesian language related to Kapingamarangi, Rennellese and Pileni languages. Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi constitute parts of the Polynesian outlier cultures, lying well outside the Polynesian Triangle, locals tell that the first people who came to settle on Nukuoro in the 18th century were a man and crew of six from Tokelau in the South Pacific. First sighting recorded by Europeans was by Spanish naval officer Juan Bautista Monteverde on 18 February 1806 commanding the frigate San Rafael of the Royal Company of the Philippines and they have therefore appeared in the maps as the Monteverde Islands for a long time. Madolenihmw Kitti U, Pohnpei Nett Kapingamarangi Pingelap Sapwuahfik Sokehs Mokil Kolonia Oroluk Palikir Nukuoro Atoll, archived from the original on 7 September 2012. National Research Council, National Academy of Science, archived from the original on 3 October 2015. An outline of the structure of the language of Nakuoro, Vern Carroll, Journal of the Polynesian Society, Auckland University
20.
Los Roques Archipelago
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Los Roques archipelago is a federal dependency of Venezuela consisting of approximately 350 islands, cays, and islets in a total area of 40.61 square kilometers. The archipelago is located 128 kilometers directly north of the port of La Guaira, the islands pristine coral reef attracts many wealthy visitors, especially from Europe, some of whom come in their own yachts and anchor in the inner, protected shallow waters. Because of the variety of seabirds and rich aquatic life. The major islands of the archipelago have a structure, with two external barriers formed by coral communities, and an inner lagoon and sandy shallows. Other important islands are Francisqui, Nordisqui, Madrisqui, and Crasqui, El Gran Roque is the only populated island in the group. It has a suitable for small or STOL aircraft, Los Roques Airport. The airport is controlled from the Maiquetía airport on the mainland, from El Gran Roque most visitors that arrive, go to the port and travel to the keys in small boats called peñeros from 9,00 am to 4,00 pm. Activities include fishing, birding, snorkeling, diving, paddling, windsurfing, and kitesurfing, the islands were sighted by early European navigators, and in 1589 the governor of the Venezuelan province ordered the formal takeover of these islands on behalf of the colony. The Dutch considered Los Roques to belong to their territory of Curaçao because of its proximity to Bonaire which also belonged to the Dutch. The author M. D. Teenstra in 1836 still writes, The Government of Curaçao also includes the islets and rocks Little Curaçao, Aves, Roques. In 1871 the Venezuelan president Antonio Guzmán Blanco created by decree the Territorio Colón which included Los Roques, the island of Gran Roque was named as the center of territorial government. Rainfall is 256.6 mm / year, minimum 6.6 mm, according to the Venezuelan census of 20011.209 inhabitants were counted, by 2008 it is estimated that the number of its inhabitants is around 1,800. Federal Dependencies of Venezuela List of national parks of Venezuela List of marine molluscs of Venezuela List of Poriferans of Venezuela National Park Institute, Venezuela
21.
Bikini Atoll
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Bikini Atoll is an atoll in the Marshall Islands which consists of 23 islands totaling 3.4 square miles surrounding a deep 229. 4-square-mile central lagoon. It is at the end of the Ralik Chain, approximately 87 kilometres northwest of Ailinginae Atoll and 850 kilometres northwest of Majuro. Within Bikini Atoll, Bikini, Eneu, Nam, and Enidrik islands comprise just over 70% of the land area, Bikini and Eneu are the only islands of the atoll that hosted a permanent population. Bikini Island is the northeastern most and largest islet, before World War II, the atoll was known by its German name, Eschscholtz Atoll. The islands English name is derived from the German colonial name Bikini given to the atoll when it was part of German New Guinea. The German name is transliterated from the Marshallese name for the island, Pikinni, Pik meaning surface and Ni meaning coconut, before the advent of Western influence, the Bikini islanders sustenance-based lifestyle was based on cultivating native plants and eating shellfish and fish. They were skilled builders and navigators, sailing the two-hulled proa to and from islets around the Bikini. The islanders were relatively isolated and had developed a society bound by close extended family association and tradition. Every lagoon was led by a king and queen and a following of chieftains, some of the leaders maintained Asian-style bungalows and maintained servants, including secretaries, maids, and valets. The islanders worked the plantations under the watchful eye of the Japanese. Chiefs could retain as much as $20,000 per year, the Marshall islanders were formerly aggressive, but the influence of the mission churches eliminated most conflict. They took pride in extending hospitality to one another, even distant relatives, the men wore a fringe skirt of native materials about 25 to 30 inches long. Women traditionally wore two mats about a square each, made by weaving pandanus and hibiscus leaves together. The Christian missionaries who began arriving in the late 19th century influenced the islanders notions of modesty, in 1919, a visitor reported that Marshall Islands women are perfect models of prudery. Not one would think of exposing her ankles, women in the Marshall Islands today are still very modest. They believe that a womans thighs and shoulders should be covered, women generally wear cotton muʻumuʻus or similar clothing that covers most of the body. Personal health is never discussed except within the family, and women are especially private about female-related health issues, Marshall island women swim in muʻumuʻus which are made of a fine polyester that quickly dries. In the capital of Majuro, revealing cocktail dresses are inappropriate for both islanders and guests, with the increasing influence of Western media, the younger generation may wear shorts, though the older generation equates shorts with loose morals
22.
Tuamotu Islands
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Its major islands are Anaa, Fakarava, Hao and Makemo. The Tuamotu islands were settled by Polynesians, so Tuamotuans share a common culture. French Polynesia is an island group designated as an overseas country of France. The Tuamotus combine with the Gambier Islands to form the Îles Tuamotu-Gambier which is one of the five divisions of French Polynesia. The Tuamotus are grouped into sixteen communes, Anaa, Arutua, Fakarava, Fangatau, Hao, Hikueru, Makemo, Manihi, Napuka, Nukutavake, Puka Puka, Rangiroa, Reao, Takaroa, Tatakoto, and Tureia. The communes on Tuamotu are part of two different electoral districts represented in the Assembly of French Polynesia, the other five communes in western Tuamotu – Arutua, Fakarava, Manihi, Rangiroa, and Takaroa – form the Îles Tuamotu Ouest electoral district. At the 2007 census, the Tuamotus had a population of 18,317 inhabitants, of these,769 inhabitants live in a 215-nautical-mile radius around Mururoa and Fangataufa, the sites of former French nuclear tests. The common language spoken in the Tuamotus is Tuamotuan, except in Puka-Puka which uses the Marquesan language, the islands economy is predominantly composed of subsistence agriculture. The most important sources of income are the cultivation of black pearls. Tourism-related income remains meager, especially by comparison to the industry of the neighboring Society Islands. A modest tourism infrastructure is found on the atolls of Rangiroa, despite the vast spread of the archipelago, it covers a total land area of only about 885 km2. The climate is tropical, without pronounced seasons. The annual average temperature is a relatively continuous 26 °C, water sources such as lakes or rivers are absent, leaving catchments of rain as the only source of fresh water. The annual average rainfall is 1400 mm, rainfall is not markedly different throughout the year, although it is lowest during the months of September and November. Geological stability of the archipelago is high, as it was created by the weakly active Easter Fracture Zone, no volcanic eruptions have been recorded historically. The sparse soil of the coral islands does not permit a diverse vegetation, the coconut palm, which forms the basis for copra production, is of special economic importance. On a few islands, vanilla is also cultivated, agriculture is generally otherwise limited to simple subsistence. Fruit and vegetable staples include yams, taro, and breadfruit, pandanus leaves are traditionally woven together as roof thatch, as well as for other items, such as mats and hats
23.
Caroline Islands
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The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end. Historically, this area was also called Nuevas Filipinas or New Philippines as they were part of the Spanish East Indies, the Carolines span a distance of approximately 3540 kilometers, from Tobi, Palau at the westernmost point to Kosrae at the easternmost. The group consists of about 500 small coral islands, east of the Philippines, in the Pacific Ocean, most of the islands comprise low, flat coral atolls, but some rise high above sea level. Other significant populations include Filipinos and Japanese, the natives live mainly on horticulture and fishing, also supplementing their diet with many different varieties of bananas and taro, either of the swamp or purple varieties. On some islands housing continues to be built with materials including coconut thatch. The language spoken in commerce is English, but there are several indigenous languages and they traditionally believe in a Supreme Being and in a bad spirit, yet they have hardly any religious rites. Due to extensive work, Christianity is the primary religion practiced in this region of Micronesia. Master Micronesian Navigator Mau Piailug was from the Carolinian island of Satawal and he learned the traditional navigation techniques of the Weriyeng school. These techniques had been preserved while similar techniques had been forgotten partly due to the remoteness of the Carolinian Islands. In 1985 a study was made on the origin of the sidereal compass used in the Caroline Islands, different islands and island groups in the Carolines passed down unique and variant oral legends recounting the origins and early histories of their peoples. On Pohnpei, for example, pre-colonial history is divided into three eras, Mwehin Kawa or Mwehin Aramas, Mwehin Sau Deleur, and Mwehin Nahnmwarki, Pohnpeian legend recounts that the Saudeleur rulers, the first to bring government to Pohnpei, were of foreign origin. The Saudeleur centralized form of rule is characterized in Pohnpeian legend as becoming increasingly oppressive over several generations. Arbitrary and onerous demands, as well as a reputation for offending Pohnpeian deities, the Saudeleur Dynasty ended with the invasion of Isokelekel, another semi-mythical foreigner, who replaced the Saudeleur rule with the more decentralized nahnmwarki system in existence today. The Spanish explorers Toribio Alonso de Salazar and Diego de Saavedra arrived on August 22,1526, on 1 January 1528 the discoverer Álvaro de Saavedra took possession of the Uluti Islands on behalf of the King of Spain. Spanish explorers visited the archipelago in 1542,1543, and 1545, in 1565 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the first Governor-General of the Philippines, passed through. The name was extended to include the Palau Islands and the archipelagos which were named the Gilbert Islands, the occupation of the Caroline Islands had, as in most of the Spanish colonies, a marked religious character. A royal decree of October 19,1707 granted authorization for the sending of missionaries in several expeditions to the islands, one such expedition was made by Father Juan Antonio Cantova, who was killed
24.
Marshall Islands
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The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the island group of Micronesia. The countrys population of 53,158 people is spread out over 29 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The islands share maritime boundaries with the Federated States of Micronesia to the west, Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the south-east, about 27,797 of the islanders live on Majuro, which contains the capital. Micronesian colonists gradually settled the Marshall Islands during the 2nd millennium BC, Islands in the archipelago were first explored by Europeans in the 1520s, with Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar sighting an atoll in August 1526. Other expeditions by Spanish and English ships followed, the islands derive their name from British explorer John Marshall, who visited in 1788. The islands were known by the inhabitants as jolet jen Anij. The European powers recognized Spanish sovereignty over the islands in 1874 and they had been part of the Spanish East Indies formally since 1528. Later, Spain sold the islands to the German Empire in 1884, in World War I the Empire of Japan occupied the Marshall Islands, which in 1919 the League of Nations combined with other former German territories to form the South Pacific Mandate. In World War II, the United States conquered the islands in the Gilbert, along with other Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands were then consolidated into the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands governed by the US. Self-government was achieved in 1979, and full sovereignty in 1986, Marshall Islands has been a United Nations member state since 1991. The country uses the United States dollar as its currency, the majority of the citizens of the Marshall Islands are of Marshallese descent, though there are small numbers of immigrants from the United States, China, Philippines, and other Pacific islands. The two official languages are Marshallese, which is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, and English, micronesians settled the Marshall Islands in the 2nd millennium BC, but there are no historical or oral records of that period. Over time, the Marshall Island people learned to navigate over long distances by canoe using traditional stick charts. Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar was the first European to see the islands in 1526, commanding the ship Santa Maria de la Victoria, on August 21, he sighted an island at 14°N that he named San Bartolome. On September 21,1529, Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón commanded the Spanish ship Florida and he stood off a group of islands from which local inhabitants hurled stones at his ship. These islands, which he named Los Pintados, may have been Ujelang, on October 1, he found another group of islands where he went ashore for eight days, exchanged gifts with the local inhabitants and took on water. These islands, which he named Los Jardines, may have been Enewetak or Bikini Atoll
25.
Coral Sea Islands
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The only inhabited island is Willis Island. The Coral Sea Islands were first charted in 1803, in the 1870s and 1880s the islands were mined for guano but the absence of a reliable supply of fresh water prevented long-term habitation. The two latter reefs are closer to Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, than to the southernmost island of the rest of the territory. The islands, cays and reefs of the Great Barrier Reef are not part of the territory, the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef is the boundary between Queensland and the Coral Sea Islands Territory. The territory is a possession or external territory of Australia, administered from Canberra by the Attorney-Generals Department, defence is the responsibility of Australia, and the territory is visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy. Australia maintains automatic weather stations on many of the isles and reefs, there is no economic activity, and only a staff of three or four people to run the meteorological station on Willis Island, established in 1921. In November 2011 the Australian government announced that a 989, 842-square-kilometre protected area was planned in the Coral Sea, as applicable, the laws of the Australian Capital Territory apply on the Coral Sea Islands. The territorys FIPS 10-4 code is CR, whereas ISO3166 includes it in Australia, the islands are all very low. The Willis Islets are important nesting areas for birds and turtles and they comprise less than three square kilometres of land. There is no port or harbour, only offshore anchorage, the formation sits atop a submarine feature known as the Marion Plateau which is separated from the larger Coral Sea Plateau to the north by the Townsville Trough. Three small sand cays are located on the side of Marion Reef, Paget Cay, on Long Reef, Carola Cay, south of Long Reef. The atolls of the Northwestern Group, except Osprey Reef and Shark Reef in the north, and Marion Reef in the south, are located on the Coral Sea Plateau, flinders Reefs, Heralds Surprise and Dart Reef form a cluster of reefs of 66 by 26 km. The 6 islets of the reserve have areas from 0.16 to 0.37 km2. Lihou Reef was declared a Nature Reserve on 16 August 1982, the Nature Reserves were created to protect wildlife in the respective areas of the territory, together they form the Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site. It has the outline of a platform around 10 km in length and 3 km across. The surrounding reefs, which enclose a narrow lagoon, are submerged at high tide. Near the centre of the lagoon is the only permanent land of the reef - Heralds-Beacon Islet, the island is a small cay measuring 600 m by 120 m, area 57,000 m2, only rising a few ms above the high-water mark. Frederick Reefs, The reefs form a lagoon, known as Anchorage Sound
26.
Kiribati
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Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation in the central Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is just over 100,000, more than half of live on Tarawa Atoll. The nation comprises 33 atolls and reef islands and one raised coral island and they have a total land area of 800 square kilometres and are dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometers. Their spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, although the International Date Line is indented to bring the Line Islands in the day as the Kiribati Islands. The International Date Line circumscribes Kiribati by swinging far to the east, almost reaching the 150°W meridian, Kiribatis easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands south of Hawaii, have the most advanced time on Earth, UTC+14 hours. Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979, the capital and now most populated area, South Tarawa, consists of a number of islets, connected by a series of causeways. These comprise about half the area of Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the IMF and the World Bank, and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999. The name Kiribati was adopted at independence and it is local enunciation of Gilberts. This name derives from the archipelago that forms the nation. It was named the Gilbert Islands after the British explorer Thomas Gilbert and he sighted many of the islands in 1788 while mapping out the Outer Passage route from Port Jackson to Canton. The Kiribati archipelago was named Îles Gilbert, in about 1820, by Russian admiral Adam von Krusenstern, both their maps, published in 1820, were written in French. The archipelagos name was incorporated in the entire Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916, the spelling of Gilberts in the Gilbertese language as Kiribati may be found in books in Gilbertese prepared by missionaries and others. It is often suggested that the name for the Gilbert Islands proper is Tungaru. The pronunciation differs, Kiribas is the pronunciation as ti in Kiribatese makes an s sound. The area now called Kiribati has been inhabited by Micronesians speaking the same Oceanic language since sometime between 3000 BC and AD1300, the area was not isolated, invaders from Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji, later introduced Polynesian and Melanesian cultural aspects, respectively. Intermarriage tended to blur cultural differences and resulted in a significant degree of cultural homogenisation, chance visits by European ships occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries, as these ships attempted circumnavigations of the world or sought sailing routes from the south to north Pacific Ocean. The passing trade gave rise to European, Chinese, Samoan and other residents from the 1830s, they included beachcombers, castaways, traders and missionaries. In 1892 local authorities on each of the Gilbert Islands agreed to Captain Davis RN declaring them part of a British protectorate with the nearby Ellice Islands
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Tuvalu
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It comprises three reef islands and six true atolls spread out between the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of the International Date Line. Tuvalu has a population of 10,640, the total land area of the islands of Tuvalu is 26 square kilometres. The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians, in 1568, Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to sail through the archipelago, sighting the island of Nui during his expedition in search of Terra Australis. In 1819 the island of Funafuti was named Ellices Island, the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay. A referendum was held in December 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands, as a consequence of the referendum, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony ceased to exist on 1 January 1976 and the separate British colonies of Kiribati and Tuvalu came into existence. Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978, on 5 September 2000 Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations. The origins of the people of Tuvalu are addressed in the theories regarding migration into the Pacific that began about 3000 years ago, during pre-European-contact times there was frequent canoe voyaging between the nearer islands including Samoa and Tonga. Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited, thus the name, Tuvalu, possible evidence of fire in the Caves of Nanumanga may indicate human occupation for thousands of years. The stories as to the ancestors of the Tuvaluans vary from island to island, on Niutao, Funafuti and Vaitupu the founding ancestor is described as being from Samoa, whereas on Nanumea the founding ancestor is described as being from Tonga. Mendaña made contact with the islanders but was unable to land, during Mendañas second voyage across the Pacific he passed Niulakita on 29 August 1595, which he named La Solitaria. Captain John Byron passed through the islands of Tuvalu in 1764 during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of the Dolphin, Byron charted the atolls as Lagoon Islands. Chambers and Doug Munro identified Niutao as the island that Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa sailed past on 5 May 1781, mourelles map and journal named the island El Gran Cocal, however, the latitude and longitude was uncertain. Longitude could only be reckoned crudely as accurate chronometers were unavailable until the late 18th century, the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay. In 1820 the Russian explorer Mikhail Lazarev visited Nukufetau as commander of the Mirny, Louis Isidore Duperrey, captain of La Coquille, sailed past Nanumanga in May 1824 during a circumnavigation of the earth. A Dutch expedition found Nui on the morning of 14 June 1825, whalers began roving the Pacific, although visiting Tuvalu only infrequently because of the difficulties of landing on the atolls. Captain George Barrett of the Nantucket whaler Independence II has been identified as the first whaler to hunt the waters around Tuvalu, in November 1821 he bartered coconuts from the people of Nukulaelae and also visited Niulakita. A shore camp was established on Sakalua islet of Nukufetau, where coal was used to melt down the whale blubber, the Rev. A. W. Elekana began proselytising Christianity. He was trained at Malua Theological College, a London Missionary Society school in Samoa, in 1865 the Rev. A. W. Murray of the LMS – a Protestant congregationalist missionary society – arrived as the first European missionary where he too proselytised among the inhabitants of Tuvalu
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Indian Ocean
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The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the worlds oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km2. It is bounded by Asia on the north, on the west by Africa, on the east by Australia, the Indian Ocean is known as Ratnākara, the mine of gems in ancient Sanskrit literature, and as Hind Mahāsāgar, in Hindi. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf, the oceans continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 kilometres in width. An exception is found off Australias western coast, where the width exceeds 1,000 kilometres. The average depth of the ocean is 3,890 m and its deepest point is Diamantina Deep in Diamantina Trench, at 8,047 m deep, Sunda Trench has a depth of 7, 258–7,725 m. North of 50° south latitude, 86% of the basin is covered by pelagic sediments. The remaining 14% is layered with terrigenous sediments, glacial outwash dominates the extreme southern latitudes. The major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, the Lombok Strait, the Strait of Malacca, the Indian Ocean is artificially connected to the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal, which is accessible via the Red Sea. All of the Indian Ocean is in the Eastern Hemisphere and the centre of the Eastern Hemisphere is in this ocean, marginal seas, gulfs, bays and straits of the Indian Ocean include, The climate north of the equator is affected by a monsoon climate. Strong north-east winds blow from October until April, from May until October south, in the Arabian Sea the violent Monsoon brings rain to the Indian subcontinent. In the southern hemisphere, the winds are milder. When the monsoon winds change, cyclones sometimes strike the shores of the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean in the world. Long-term ocean temperature records show a rapid, continuous warming in the Indian Ocean, Indian Ocean warming is the largest among the tropical oceans, and about 3 times faster than the warming observed in the Pacific. Research indicates that human induced greenhouse warming, and changes in the frequency, among the few large rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean are the Zambezi, Shatt al-Arab, Indus, Godavari, Krishna, Narmada, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Jubba and Irrawaddy River. The oceans currents are controlled by the monsoon. Two large gyres, one in the northern hemisphere flowing clockwise and one south of the equator moving anticlockwise, during the winter monsoon, however, currents in the north are reversed. Deep water circulation is controlled primarily by inflows from the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, north of 20° south latitude the minimum surface temperature is 22 °C, exceeding 28 °C to the east. Southward of 40° south latitude, temperatures drop quickly, surface water salinity ranges from 32 to 37 parts per 1000, the highest occurring in the Arabian Sea and in a belt between southern Africa and south-western Australia
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Lakshadweep Islands
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Lakshadweep, formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islands, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea,200 to 440 km off the south western coast of India. The archipelago is a Union Territory and is governed by the Union Government of India and they were also known as Laccadive Islands, although geographically this is only the name of the central subgroup of the group. Lakshadweep comes from Lakshadweepa, which one hundred thousand islands in Sanskrit. The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India, their surface area is just 32 km2. The lagoon area covers about 4,200 km2, the territorial waters area 20,000 km2, the region forms a single Indian district with 10 subdivisions. Kavaratti serves as the capital of the Union Territory and the region comes under the jurisdiction of Kerala High Court, the islands are the northernmost of the Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos group of islands, which are the tops of a vast undersea mountain range, the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge. As the islands do not have any aboriginal groups, different views have been postulated by the scholars about the history of habitation on these islands, archaeological evidence supports the existence of human settlement in the region around 1500 BC. The islands have long known to sailors, as indicated by an anonymous reference from the first century AD to the region in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The islands were referenced also in the Buddhist Jataka stories of the sixth century BC, the arrival of Muslim missionaries around the seventh century led to the advent of Islam in the region. During the medieval period, the region was ruled by the Chola dynasty, the Portuguese arrived around 1498 and were upstaged by 1545. The region was ruled by the Muslim house of Arakkal. On his death in 1799, most of the region passed on to the British and with their departure, Ten of the islands are inhabited. At the 2011 Indian census, the population of the Union Territory was 64,473, the majority of the indigenous population is Muslim and most of them belong to the Shafi school of the Sunni sect. The islanders are ethnically similar to the Malayali people of the nearest Indian state of Kerala, most of the population speaks Malayalam with Mahi being the most spoken language in Minicoy island. The islands are served by an airport on the Agatti island, the main occupation of the people is fishing and coconut cultivation, with tuna being the main item of export. A mention of the region in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, There are references to the control of the islands by the Cheras in the Sangam Patiṟṟuppattu. Local traditions and legends attribute the first settlement on these islands to the period of Cheraman Perumal, the oldest inhabited islands in the group are Amini, Kalpeni Andrott, Kavaratti, and Agatti. Archaeological evidence suggests that Buddhism prevailed in the region during the fifth and sixth centuries CE, according to popular tradition, Islam was brought to Lakshadweep by an Arab named Ubaidulla in 661 CE
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Chagos Archipelago
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The Chagos Archipelago or Chagos Islands is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge, since 1971, only the atoll of Diego Garcia is inhabited, and only by military and civilian contracted personnel. The sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago is being disputed between the UK and Mauritius, the United Kingdom excised the archipelago from Mauritian territory prior to Mauritius independence. The land area of the islands is 56.13 km2, the total area, including lagoons within atolls, is more than 15,000 km2, of which 12,642 km2 are accounted by the Great Chagos Bank, the largest acknowledged atoll structure of the world. The shelf area is 20,607 km2, and the Exclusive Economic Zone, unlike the Maldives, there is no clearly discernible pattern in the atoll arrangement, which makes the whole archipelago look somewhat chaotic. Most of the structures of the Chagos are submerged reefs. The Chagos contain the worlds largest coral atoll, The Great Chagos Bank, as a result, the ecosystems of the Chagos have so far proven resilient to climate change and environmental disruptions. The largest individual islands are Diego Garcia, Eagle, Île Pierre, Eastern Egmont, Île du Coin and Île Boddam. In addition to the seven atolls with dry land reaching at least the high-water mark, there are nine reefs and banks, features are listed in the table from north to south, The main natural resources of the area are coconuts and fish. All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are currently no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands, all the water, food and other essentials of daily life are shipped to the island. An independent feasibility study led to the conclusion that resettlement would be costly, another feasibility study, commissioned by organisations supporting resettlement, found that resettlement would be possible at a cost to the British taxpayer of £25 million. If the Chagossians return, they plan to re-establish copra production and fishing, until October 2010, Skipjack and yellowfin tuna were fished for about two months of the year as their year-long migratory route takes them through Chagos waters. While the remoteness of the Chagos offers some protection from extractive activities, there is considerable poaching of turtles and other marine life. Sharks, which play a role in balancing the food web of tropical reefs, have suffered sharp declines from illegal fishing for their fins. Sea cucumbers, which cleanse sand, are poached to feed Asian markets, the Chagos Archipelago has a tropical oceanic climate, hot and humid but moderated by trade winds. Climate is characterised by plenty of sunshine, warm temperatures, showers, December through February is considered the rainy season, typical weather conditions include light west-northwesterly winds and warmer temperatures with more rainfall. June to September is considered the season, characterised by moderate south-easterly winds, slightly cooler temperatures
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Outer Islands (Seychelles)
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The local Seychellois Creole name for the outer islands is Zil Elwannyen Sesel, while the French name is Îles Eloignées. They are all of coral formation, and in the western Indian Ocean, until 2008, the islands were outside the administrative and electoral Districts of Seychelles. in 2008 the shrimp farm closed on Coëtivy Island which caused a wave of job-seekers coming to Mahé. The ministry of tourism was granted a free hand on these islands in order to settle down the unrest of the population and it formed the IDC to control the islands, and prepared a program called 1 hotel 1 island. Each island in the group should be leased to a hotel and it required removal of the PA from the islands. At first finding hotel chains was difficult, so Coëtivy received a prison, other islands received questionable facilities as well, e. g. Marie Louise Island a jail, Assumption Island an Army base, but on other islands had developments of resorts. The population increased again, for the first time in a century, Conservation in the outer islands is managed by Island Conservation Society. The Save Our Seas Foundation manages the preserve of DArros Island. The coral islands are flat with elevated coral reefs at different stages of formation and they are generally low-lying, and often form atolls around a central lagoon. The soils of the Corraline Seychelles are generally sandy and infertile, the Inner Islands or Granitic Seychelles, by contrast, are composed of granite on the Seychelles Bank plateau, and are ancient fragments of continental crust. They are generally mountainous, humid, and populated. The Outer Islands comprise 216.57 square kilometres or 46% of the land area of the Seychelles. The coral Outer Islands are located at distances of 230–1,150 kilometres from Mahé, as of 2016 the population is 701 although this figure increases during the short summer vacation when Mahe people come to work in tourism and fishing on the islands. There are 12 inhabited islands, The major are Coëtivy with 260 and Desroches with a 100. loc. gov/frd/cs/
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Seychelles
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Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an archipelago and country in the Indian Ocean. The 115-island country, whose capital is Victoria, lies 1,500 kilometres east of mainland East Africa, other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros, Mayotte, Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius to the south. Seychelles is a member of the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations, since 1976, per capita output has increased nearly sevenfold. In recent years, the government has encouraged investment in order to upgrade these sectors. Today, Seychelles boasts the highest nominal per capita GDP in Africa and it is one of only a handful of countries in Africa with high Human Development Index. Despite the countrys economic prosperity, poverty remains widespread due to very high level of income inequality, one of the highest in the world. The Seychelles were uninhabited throughout most of recorded history, some scholars assume that Austronesian seafarers and later Maldivian and Arab traders were the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles. This assumption is based on the discovery of tombs in 1910, the earliest recorded sighting by Europeans took place in 1502 by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named them after himself. The earliest recorded landing was in January 1609, by the crew of the Ascension under Captain Alexander Sharpeigh during the voyage of the British East India Company. The islands were named after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Louis XVs Minister of Finance, the British controlled the islands between 1794 and 1810. Jean Baptiste Quéau de Quincy, French administrator of Seychelles during the years of war with the United Kingdom, instead, he successfully negotiated the status of capitulation to Britain which gave the settlers a privileged position of neutrality. Britain eventually assumed full control upon the surrender of Mauritius in 1810, Seychelles became a crown colony separate from Mauritius in 1903. Elections were held in 1966 and 1970, independence was granted in 1976 as a republic within the Commonwealth. In the 1970s Seychelles was the place to be seen, a playground for film stars, in 1977, a coup détat by France Albert René ousted the first president of the republic, James Mancham. René discouraged over-dependence on tourism and declared that he wanted to keep the Seychelles for the Seychellois, the 1979 constitution declared a socialist one-party state, which lasted until 1991. In the 1980s there were a series of attempts against President René. In 1981, Mike Hoare led a team of 43 South African mercenaries masquerading as holidaying rugby players in the 1981 Seychelles coup détat attempt, there was a gun battle at the airport, and most of the mercenaries later escaped in a hijacked Air India plane. The leader of this hijacking was German mercenary D. Clodo, Clodo later stood trial in South Africa as well as in his home country Germany for air-piracy
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Nicaragua
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Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the largest country in the Central American isthmus. Nicaraguas capital, Managua, is the countrys largest city and the third-largest city in Central America, the multi-ethnic population of six million includes indigenous peoples, Europeans, Africans, and Asians. Native tribes on the eastern coast speak their own languages, the Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821, since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, and fiscal crisis—the most notable causes that led to the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Nicaragua is a democratic republic. The biological diversity, warm climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination. The name Nicaragua was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name Nicarao, when Spaniard Gil González Dávila came to Nicaragua in 1521 he found in the areas between Rivas and San Jorge the first pre-Columbian natives of Nicaragua. At the time the city was called Quauhcapolca and the cacique leaders name was Macuilmiquiztli. The Pipil migrated to Nicaragua from central Mexico after 500 BC, meanwhile, the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua was inhabited by other peoples, mostly Chibcha language groups. They had coalesced in Central America and migrated also to present-day northern Colombia and they lived a life based primarily on hunting and gathering. In 1502, Christopher Columbus became the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed southeast toward the Isthmus of Panama, on his fourth voyage, Columbus explored the Miskito Coast on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua. The Spanish attempted to convert all three tribes to Christianity, Nicaragua and Nicarao and their people converted, but Dirangen, however, did not, the first attempt to conquer what is now known as Nicaragua was by Gil González Dávila, who arrived in Panama in January 1520. The first Spanish permanent settlements were founded in 1524, conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded two of Nicaraguas principal towns in 1524, Granada on Lake Nicaragua was the first settlement, followed by León at a location west of Lake Managua. Córdoba soon built defenses for the cities and fought against incursions by other conquistadors, Córdoba was later publicly beheaded following a power struggle with Pedro Arias Dávila. His tomb and remains were discovered in 2000 in the ruins of León Viejo, the clashes among Spanish forces did not impede their destruction of the indigenous people and their culture. The series of battles came to be known as the War of the Captains, Pedro Arias Dávila was a winner, although he had lost control of Panama, he moved to Nicaragua and successfully established his base in León. Through adroit diplomatic machinations, he became the first governor of the colony, many indigenous people died as a result of new infectious diseases, compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence. In 1610, the Momotombo volcano erupted, destroying the capital and it was rebuilt northwest of what is now known as the ruins of Old León
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Colombia
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Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a transcontinental country largely situated in the northwest of South America, with territories in Central America. Colombia shares a border to the northwest with Panama, to the east with Venezuela and Brazil and to the south with Ecuador and it shares its maritime limits with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is a unitary, constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments, the territory of what is now Colombia was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples including the Muisca, the Quimbaya and the Tairona. The Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of conquest and colonization ultimately creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada, independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 the Gran Colombia Federation was dissolved. What is now Colombia and Panama emerged as the Republic of New Granada, the new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation, and then the United States of Colombia, before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Since the 1960s the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict, Colombia is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world, and thereby possesses a rich cultural heritage. Cultural diversity has also influenced by Colombias varied geography. The urban centres are located in the highlands of the Andes mountains. Colombian territory also encompasses Amazon rainforest, tropical grassland and both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, ecologically, it is one of the worlds 17 megadiverse countries, and the most densely biodiverse of these per square kilometer. Colombia is a power and a regional actor with the fourth-largest economy in Latin America, is part of the CIVETS group of six leading emerging markets and is an accessing member to the OECD. Colombia has an economy with macroeconomic stability and favorable growth prospects in the long run. The name Colombia is derived from the last name of Christopher Columbus and it was conceived by the Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to all the New World, but especially to those portions under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name was adopted by the Republic of Colombia of 1819. When Venezuela, Ecuador and Cundinamarca came to exist as independent states, New Granada officially changed its name in 1858 to the Granadine Confederation. In 1863 the name was changed, this time to United States of Colombia. To refer to country, the Colombian government uses the terms Colombia. Owing to its location, the present territory of Colombia was a corridor of early human migration from Mesoamerica, the oldest archaeological finds are from the Pubenza and El Totumo sites in the Magdalena Valley 100 km southwest of Bogotá. These sites date from the Paleoindian period, at Puerto Hormiga and other sites, traces from the Archaic Period have been found
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Tropics
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The tropics are a region of the Earth surrounding the equator. The tropics are also referred to as the zone and the torrid zone. The tropics include all the areas on the Earth where the Sun is at a point directly overhead at least once during the solar year. The tropics are distinguished from the climatic and biomatic regions of Earth, which are the middle latitudes. Tropical is sometimes used in a sense for a tropical climate to mean warm to hot and moist year-round. Many tropical areas have a dry and wet season, the wet season, rainy season or green season, is the time of year, ranging from one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region falls. Areas with wet seasons are disseminated across portions of the tropics and subtropics, under the Köppen climate classification, for tropical climates, a wet season month is defined as a month where average precipitation is 60 millimetres or more. Tropical rainforests technically do not have dry or wet seasons, since their rainfall is distributed through the year. When the wet season occurs during the season, or summer, precipitation falls mainly during the late afternoon. The wet season is a time when air quality improves, freshwater quality improves and vegetation grows significantly, floods cause rivers to overflow their banks, and some animals to retreat to higher ground. Soil nutrients diminish and erosion increases, the incidence of malaria increases in areas where the rainy season coincides with high temperatures. Animals have adaptation and survival strategies for the wetter regime, unfortunately, the previous dry season leads to food shortages into the wet season, as the crops have yet to mature. Regions within the tropics may well not have a tropical climate, there are alpine tundra and snow-capped peaks, including Mauna Kea, Mount Kilimanjaro, and the Andes as far south as the northernmost parts of Chile and Argentina. Under the Köppen climate classification, much of the area within the tropics is classed not as tropical but as dry including the Sahara Desert. Tropical plants and animals are those native to the tropics. Tropical ecosystems may consist of rainforests, dry forests, spiny forests, desert. There are often significant areas of biodiversity, and species present, particularly in rainforests. In biogeography, the tropics are divided into Paleotropics and Neotropics, together, they are sometimes referred to as the Pantropic
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Subtropics
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The subtropics are geographic and climate zones located roughly between the tropic circle of latitude at 23.5 latitude and temperate latitudes. Subtropical climates are characterized by warm to hot summers and cool to mild winters with infrequent frost. Subtropical climates can occur at elevations within the tropics, such as in the southern end of the Mexican Plateau and in Vietnam. Six climate classifications use the term to define the various temperature. A great portion of the deserts are located within the subtropics. Within savanna regimes in the subtropics, a wet season is seen annually during the summer, within Mediterranean climate regimes, the wet season occurs during the winter. Areas bordering warm oceans are prone to heavy rainfall from tropical cyclones. Plants such as palms, citrus, mango, lychee, the tropics have been historically defined as lying between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, located at 23. 45° north and south latitude respectively. The poleward fringe of the subtropics is located at approximately 40° north and south latitude respectively, northern fringes of the type can go further north due to moderating effects of ocean streams, like in parts of Southern Europe due to heat transported by the Gulf Stream. Several methods have used to define the subtropical climate. In the Trewartha climate classification, a subtropical region should have at least eight months with a temperature greater than 10 °C. According to the Troll-Paffen climate classification, there exists one large subtropical zone named the warm-temperate subtropical zone. According to the E. Neef climate classification, the zone is divided into two parts, Rainy winters of the west sides and Eastern subtropical climate. According to the Wilhelm Lauer & Peter Frankenberg climate classification, the zone is divided into three parts, high-continental, continental, and maritime. According to the Siegmund/Frankenberg climate classification, subtropical is one of six zones in the world. Heating of the earth near the equator leads to large amounts of upward motion and convection along the trough or Intertropical convergence zone. The upper-level divergence over the near-equatorial trough leads to air rising and moving away from the equator aloft, as the air moves towards the Mid-Latitudes, it cools and sinks, which leads to subsidence near the 30th parallel of both hemispheres. This circulation is known as the Hadley cell and leads to the formation of the subtropical ridge, many of the worlds deserts are caused by these climatological high-pressure areas, located within the subtropics
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Kure Atoll
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Kure Atoll or Ocean Island is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean 48 nautical miles beyond Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands at 28°25′N 178°20′W. The only land of significant size is called Green Island and is habitat for hundreds of thousands of seabirds, a short, unused and unmaintained runway and a portion of one building, both from a former United States Coast Guard LORAN station, are located on the island. Politically it is part of Hawaii, although separated from the rest of the state by Midway, the International Date Line lies approximately 100 miles to the west. Surprisingly, although located to the west of Midway Atoll, Kure Atoll has a timezone +1 hour ahead at UTC-10,00, Kure is the northern-most coral atoll in the world. It consists of a 6-mile wide nearly circular barrier reef surrounding a shallow lagoon, there is a total land area of 213.097 acres, with Green Island on the southeast side having 191.964 acres of this total. A growing number of Hawaiian monk seals haul out on its beaches, data chart below has been taken from Midway Atoll due to a lack of any weather stations present on Kure Atoll. Kure Atoll features a tropical climate with very pleasant year-round temperatures. Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year, with two months being able to be classified as dry season months. Barring unforeseen evolution, it will begin to join the other volcanic and reef-topped remnants of the Hawaiian-Emperor Chain to the northwest. In the Hawaiian language the term Mokupāpapa was used for any flat island with reefs, the northwestern islands are associated with Kāne Milohai in Hawaiian mythology. The brother of Pele was left to guard for travelers. Before the mid-19th century, Kure Atoll was visited by several ships, sometimes spelled Cure, its English name was for a Russian navigator who sighted the atoll. It was officially named Kure Island in 1924 and then Kure Atoll in 1987, many crews were stranded on Kure Atoll after being shipwrecked on the surrounding reefs and had to survive on the local seals, turtles, and birds. The shipwrecks remain on the reef today, including the USS Saginaw, because of these incidents, King Kalākaua sent Colonel J. H. Boyd to Kure as his Special Commissioner. On September 20,1886, he took possession of the island for the Hawaiian government, the King ordered that a crude house be built on the island, with tanks for holding water and provisions for any other unfortunates who might be cast away there. But the provisions were stolen within a year and the house fell into ruins. Once ashore, Lt. Kikuchi and the two members of his crew refused capture and were either killed or committed suicide when an American landing party tried to capture them. Kure is located within a current which washes up debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, such as fishing nets and large numbers of cigarette lighters
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Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
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The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or the Leeward Islands are the small islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. They are part of the U. S. state of Hawaii except Midway Atoll, in the state of Hawaii, they are part of Honolulu County. The United States Census Bureau defines this area as Census Tract 114.98 of Honolulu County and its total land area is 3.1075 square miles. All the islands except Nihoa are north of the Tropic of Cancer and it represents the southwestern part of the islands former volcanic cone. Ancient Hawaiians might have stayed here long-term, 40-acre Necker Island is hook shaped and 270 feet tall at its summit. Barren of vegetation, it was used by Ancient Hawaiians for religious purposes, French Frigate Shoals is an atoll, the largest region of coral reefs in Hawaii, at 200 square miles. The atoll is composed of a dozen or so islands, Tern Island housing an airport. Gardner Pinnacles is made up of two small peaks, the last rocky island in Hawaii. While the island itself is tiny, the reef is expansive. 166-square-mile Maro Reef is an extremely fertile reef system that has described as a coral garden. Laysan is a 913-acre, low, sandy island with a lake in its interior. It has arguably the most diverse ecosystem in the NWHI, Lisianski Island, only 400 acres, is geologically akin to Laysan, without the lake. Though the island is slightly less biodiverse, the reef is very fertile. Pearl and Hermes Atoll is an very similar to French Frigate Shoals. For this reason, it was ignored by guano miners. Midway Atoll is the most commonly known of the NWHI, and is also the largest, circular Kure Atoll contains the 236-acre Green Island, which used to host a LORAN station and a runway, but these have since been demolished. In terms of biodiversity, Kure is one of the less impressive of the NWHI, as the Pacific Plate moved north and later northwest over the hot spot, volcanic eruptions built up islands in a linear chain. The isolated land masses gradually eroded and subsided, evolving from high islands in the south, much like the Main Islands of Hawaii, each of the NWHI are in various stages of erosion
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Elizabeth Reef
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Elizabeth Reef 29°57′25″S 159°4′32″E is a coral reef in the Tasman Sea. The reef is separated by a deep pass, some 45 km wide, from nearby Middleton Reef. It is around 160 km from Lord Howe Island and 555 km from the New South Wales coast of Australia, the Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1997 included Elizabeth Reef in Australias Coral Sea Islands Territory. It is one of the southernmost platform reefs in the world and it measures 8.2 km by 5.5 km. Despite the relatively high latitude, a variety of flora and fauna exists on the reef and in the surrounding waters due to their location where tropical. At low tide most of the flat is exposed, at high tide only one cay is visible, Elizabeth Island, with a diameter of about 400 m. Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs form the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve managed by the Government of Australia under the Natural Heritage Trust. Surveys by the Australian Institute of Marine Science have highlighted healthy number of black cod Epinephelus daemelii, the survey in 2003 highlighted 111 species of coral and identified 181 species of fish. The total number of recorded fish species is 311 across several surveys, high numbers of Galapagos sharks Carcharhinus galapagensis were observed at the reef, which may indicate that the reef is a nursery. Sea cucumber, Holothuria whitmaei, were found in high numbers, while the 2003 survey found only small numbers of crown-of-thorns starfish, a survey in 2005 indicated that it was active. Both Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef have been the site of numerous shipwrecks, according to the National Shipwrecks Database, the ships stranded at Elizabeth Reef include, Britannia, Colonist, Douglas, Elizabeth, Naiad, Packet, Ramsay, Rosetta Joseph, and Tyrian. Britannia is listed for both Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, british sailor Steve Landles was winched to a Royal Australian Navy Sea Hawk helicopter from the stranded yacht Lamachan on 2 August 2007, the yacht could not be recovered. Lord Howe Seamount Chain The Uncertainties of Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs
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Middleton Reef
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Middleton Reef 29°27′28″S 159°7′7″E is a coral reef in the Tasman Sea. It is separated by a deep oceanic pass some 45 km wide from nearby Chan Reef and it is around 220 km from Lord Howe Island and 555 km from the coast of New South Wales. In 1997 the Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Bill 1996 included the reef in Australias Coral Sea Islands Territory and it is among the southernmost platform reefs in the world. Despite its relatively high latitude, there is a variety of flora and fauna on the reef and in the surrounding waters, due to converging tropical. It is about 8.9 km long by 6.3 km wide, at low tide most of the reef flat is exposed, at high tide only one cay is visible, The Sound,100 m by 70 m and one metre above sea level. The reefs form the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve managed by the Government of Australia under the Natural Heritage Trust, surveys by the Australian Institute of Marine Science have highlighted healthy numbers of black cod Epinephelus daemelii, a threatened species in NSW waters. The survey in 2003 highlighted 111 species of coral and identified 181 species of fish, the number of recorded fish species is 311 across several surveys. High numbers of Galapagos sharks Carcharhinus galapagensis were observed at Elizabeth Reef, Sea cucumber, Holothuria whitmaei, were also found in high numbers at Elizabeth Reef. While the 2003 survey found only small numbers of crown-of-thorns starfish, along with Elizabeth Reef, the reef has been the site of numerous shipwrecks. Britannia is listed for both Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, the yacht Sospan Fach was wrecked on Middleton Reef in 1974 and its crew of five were rescued after being stranded for six weeks. Elizabeth Reef Lord Howe Seamount Chain The Uncertainties of Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs
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Tasman Sea
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The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about 2,000 kilometres across and about 2,800 kilometres from north to south, the sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania. The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s as part of his first voyage of exploration. The Tasman Sea is informally referred to in both Australian and New Zealand English as The Ditch, for example, crossing the Ditch means travelling to Australia from New Zealand, or vice versa. The diminutive term The Ditch used for the Tasman Sea is comparable to referring to the North Atlantic Ocean as The Pond, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Tasman Sea as follows, On the West. From the South East Rock to the North point of Three Kings Islands thence to North Cape in New Zealand, a line joining the South extreme of the foul ground off Cape Palliser and the Lighthouse on Cape Campbell. A line joining the Light on Waipapapa Point with East Head of Stewart Island, a line running from South West Cape, Stewart Island, through The Snares to North West Cape, Auckland Island, through this island to its Southern point. A line joining the Southern point of Auckland Island to South East Cape, the Tasman Seas mid-ocean ridge developed between 85 and 55 million years ago as Australia and Zealandia broke apart during the breakup of supercontinent Gondwana. It lies roughly midway between the continental margins of Australia and Zealandia, much of Zealandia is submerged, so the ridge runs much closer to the Australian coast than New Zealands. The first successful flight over the sea was accomplished by Charles Kingsford Smith later that year, the first person to row solo across the sea was Colin Quincey in 1977. The next successful crossing was completed by his son, Shaun Quincey in 2010. Axis naval activity in New Zealand waters Crossing the Ditch List of seas Media related to Tasman Sea at Wikimedia Commons
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Ducie Island
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Ducie Island /ˈduːsi/ is an uninhabited atoll in the Pitcairn Islands. It lies 535 kilometres east of Pitcairn Island, and 354 kilometres east of Henderson Island, and has an area of 1.5 square miles. It is 1.5 miles long, measured northeast to southwest, the island is composed of four islets, Acadia, Pandora, Westward and Edwards. Despite its sparse vegetation, the atoll is known as the ground of a number of bird species. More than 90% of the population of Murphys petrel nests on Ducie, while pairs of red-tailed tropicbirds. He named the island Ducie in honour of Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Baron Ducie, in 1867 it was claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act, but the United Kingdom annexed it on 19 December 1902 as part of the Pitcairn Islands. Due to its inaccessibility and the distance from Pitcairn Island, Ducie is rarely visited today, the island was discovered by a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandes de Queirós on 26 January 1606, during an expedition that began in Callao, Peru. Supported by Pope Clement VIII and Philip III of Spain, Queirós was given the command of the San Pedro, San Pablo, the fleet was nicknamed Los Tres Reyes Magos. The objective of the expedition was to take soldiers, friars, Ducie Island was the first of eighteen discoveries on the trip. Queirós named the island Luna Puesta, on the same day, he also sighted two more islands, one that he named San Juan Bautista, and the other La Encarnación. It is unclear which one was Henderson island and which one Pitcairn, the confusion was later compounded when a chart produced by Admiral José de Espinosa marked Ducie as La Encarnación, rather than as Luna Puesta. The island was rediscovered and named Ducie Island on 16 March 1791 by Captain Edward Edwards, of HMS Pandora, Edwards named it in honour of Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Baron Ducie, under whom he had served earlier in his career. HMS Pandora turned northwards from Ducie and, because of change of course. If HMS Pandora had maintained its course, it would eventually have reached Pitcairn Island and found the Bounty mutineers. The crew of the whaleship Essex, which a whale had attacked and sunk in November 1820, in fact they had reached Henderson Island. Captain Thomas Raine of Surrey, who was searching for the survivors of Essex, frederick William Beechey, who arrived in HMS Blossom during November 1825, wrote the first comprehensive description of the island. Beecheys expedition did not land in the atoll, but members of the crew sailed around it in small boats, based on Beecheys survey, the first Admiralty chart of the island was published in 1826. For nearly a hundred years it was the only map of the island
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Pitcairn Islands
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The four islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno – are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 47 square kilometres. Only Pitcairn, the second-largest island that measures about 3.6 kilometres from east to west, is inhabited, the islands are inhabited mostly by descendants of nine Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians who accompanied them, an event that has been retold in many books and films. This history is apparent in the surnames of many of the islanders. With only about 50 permanent inhabitants, originating from four main families, although archaeologists believe that Polynesians were living on Pitcairn as late as the 15th century, the islands were uninhabited when they were rediscovered by Europeans. Ducie and Henderson Islands were discovered by Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, sailing for the Spanish Crown and he named them La Encarnación and San Juan Bautista, respectively. Pitcairn Island was sighted on 3 July 1767 by the crew of the British sloop HMS Swallow, the island was named after Midshipman Robert Pitcairn, a fifteen-year-old crew member who was the first to sight the island. Robert Pitcairn was a son of British Marine Major John Pitcairn, Carteret, who sailed without the newly invented marine chronometer, charted the island at 25°2′S 133°21′W, and although the latitude was reasonably accurate, the longitude was incorrect by about 3°. This made Pitcairn difficult to find, as highlighted by the failure of Captain James Cook to locate the island in July 1773. In 1790, nine of the mutineers from the Bounty, along with the native Tahitian men and women who were with them, settled on Pitcairn Islands, the wreck is still visible underwater in Bounty Bay, discovered in 1957 by National Geographic explorer Luis Marden. Although the settlers survived by farming and fishing, the period of settlement was marked by serious tensions among them. Alcoholism, murder, disease and other ills took the lives of most mutineers, John Adams and Ned Young turned to the scriptures, using the ships Bible as their guide for a new and peaceful society. Young eventually died of an asthmatic infection, after the rediscovery of Pitcairn, John Adams was granted amnesty for his part in the mutiny. Ducie Island was rediscovered in 1791 by Royal Navy Captain Edwards aboard HMS Pandora and he named it after Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Baron Ducie, also a captain in the Royal Navy. A second ship appeared in 1801, but made no attempt to communicate with them, a third came sufficiently near to see their house, but did not try to send a boat on shore. Finally, the American sealing ship Topaz under Mayhew Folger became the first to visit the island, a report of Folgers discovery was forwarded to the Admiralty, mentioning the mutineers and giving a more precise location of the island, 25°2′S 130°0′W. However this was not known to Sir Thomas Staines, who commanded a Royal Navy flotilla of two ships found the island at 25°4′S 130°25′W on 17 September 1814. Staines sent a party ashore and wrote a report for the Admiralty. Henderson Island was rediscovered on 17 January 1819 by British Captain James Henderson of the British East India Company ship Hercules, Captain Henry King, sailing on the Elizabeth, landed on 2 March to find the kings colours already flying
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Bermuda
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Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 1,070 km east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina,1,236 km south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Bermuda is an associate member of Caribbean Community. The first person known to have reached Bermuda was the Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez in 1503 and he claimed the islands for the Spanish Empire. Bermúdez never landed on the islands, but made two visits to the archipelago, of which he created a recognisable map, shipwrecked Portuguese mariners are now thought to have been responsible for the 1543 inscription on Portuguese Rock. Subsequent Spanish or other European parties are believed to have released pigs there, the island was administered as an extension of Virginia by the Company until 1614. Its spin-off, the Somers Isles Company, took over in 1615, at that time, the companys charter was revoked, and the English Crown took over administration. The islands became a British colony following the 1707 unification of the parliaments of Scotland and England, after 1949, when Newfoundland became part of Canada, Bermuda became the oldest remaining British Overseas Territory. Since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, it is the most populous Territory and its first capital, St. Georges, was established in 1612 and is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the New World. Bermudas economy is based on insurance and reinsurance, and tourism. Bermuda had one of the worlds highest GDP per capita for most of the 20th century, recently, its economic status has been affected by the global recession. The island is in the belt and prone to severe weather. However, it is protected from the full force of a hurricane by the coral reef that surrounds the island. It is 898 nautical miles northeast of Miami, Florida, and 667 nautical miles from Cape Sable Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada. The islands lie due east of Fripp Island, South Carolina, west-northwest of Cape Verde, southeast of New York City, New York, north-northwest of Brazil and north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The archipelago is formed by points on the rim of the caldera of a submarine volcano that forms a seamount. The volcano is one part of a range that was formed as part of the process that formed the floor of the Atlantic. It has 103 km of coastline, the two incorporated municipalities in Bermuda are the City of Hamilton and the Town of St George. Bermuda is divided into nine parishes, which have some localities called villages, such as Flatts Village, although usually referred to in the singular, the territory consists of 181 islands, with a total area of 53.3 square kilometres
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Latitude
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In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the Earths surface. Latitude is an angle which ranges from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the poles, lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east–west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude is used together with longitude to specify the location of features on the surface of the Earth. Without qualification the term latitude should be taken to be the latitude as defined in the following sections. Also defined are six auxiliary latitudes which are used in special applications, there is a separate article on the History of latitude measurements. Two levels of abstraction are employed in the definition of latitude and longitude, in the first step the physical surface is modelled by the geoid, a surface which approximates the mean sea level over the oceans and its continuation under the land masses. The second step is to approximate the geoid by a mathematically simpler reference surface, the simplest choice for the reference surface is a sphere, but the geoid is more accurately modelled by an ellipsoid. The definitions of latitude and longitude on such surfaces are detailed in the following sections. Lines of constant latitude and longitude together constitute a graticule on the reference surface, latitude and longitude together with some specification of height constitute a geographic coordinate system as defined in the specification of the ISO19111 standard. This is of importance in accurate applications, such as a Global Positioning System, but in common usage, where high accuracy is not required. In English texts the latitude angle, defined below, is denoted by the Greek lower-case letter phi. It is measured in degrees, minutes and seconds or decimal degrees, the precise measurement of latitude requires an understanding of the gravitational field of the Earth, either to set up theodolites or to determine GPS satellite orbits. The study of the figure of the Earth together with its field is the science of geodesy. These topics are not discussed in this article and this article relates to coordinate systems for the Earth, it may be extended to cover the Moon, planets and other celestial objects by a simple change of nomenclature. The primary reference points are the poles where the axis of rotation of the Earth intersects the reference surface, the plane through the centre of the Earth and perpendicular to the rotation axis intersects the surface at a great circle called the Equator. Planes parallel to the plane intersect the surface in circles of constant latitude. The Equator has a latitude of 0°, the North Pole has a latitude of 90° North, the latitude of an arbitrary point is the angle between the equatorial plane and the radius to that point. The latitude, as defined in this way for the sphere, is termed the spherical latitude
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