Nightingale Island
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Nightingale Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean located just south of Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island. Its area is less than one square mile. It has no permanent human inhabitants, but it is of interest to those who conduct wildlife conservation work. It is a British Overseas Territory.
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Geology
Nightingale has two peaks on its north end. One is 335 m (1100 ft) high; the other is 293 m (960 ft) high. The rest of the island is ringed by cliffs. However, these cliffs are not nearly as high as those surrounding Nightingale's neighbor Inaccessible Island, which is approximately 16 km away and has cliffs approximately 300 m high. Thus human access is much easier on Nightingale than on Inaccessible.
Caves in Nightingale Island seem to indicate elevation.
Nightingale also has two smaller islets called Stoltenhoff (99 m) and Middle (46 m).
Large amounts of kelp surround the island, which makes it harder to anchor ships in bad weather.
History
Nightingale was discovered along with Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island in 1506 by Tristão da Cunha.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch and French governments as well as Britain's East India Company considered taking possession of Nightingale (as well as Tristan and Inaccessible), but declined due to lack of landing space.
In 1656, the Nachtglas, which also made a landing at Inaccessible, landed at Nightingale. Nightingale was originally named Gebroken Eyland (the Broken Island), but it was later renamed after Gabriel Nightingale, who explored the island in 1760.
In 1767, the islets Stoltenhof and Middle were discovered by the French captain D'Escheverry.
Nightingale has been said to contain pirate loot. Captain John Thomas, on an expedition to the South Atlantic, left a fortune of Spanish doubloons and pieces-of-eight in caves on Nightingale for safekeeping. However, no recovery of this treasure (if it is there) has ever been confirmed.
In 1811, the American pirate Jonathan Lambert laid claim to Tristan and its neighboring islands. He wanted to call Inaccessible 'Pinsard Island', and Nightingale 'Lavel Island'. He was successful in his claim, but he died less than one year after.
In 1961 an earthquake on Tristan da Cunha forced the inhabitants of Tristan da Cunha to come to Nightingale. In 1963, they voted nearly unanimously to return to Tristan.
Wildlife conservation efforts are ongoing on Nightingale. The previous conservation workers' sheds were severely damaged in a hurricane in 2001. Repair is ongoing, but to continue carrying out the conservation work, all of the damaged shacks on the island need to be repaired. The United Kingdom established funding for a conservation effort on Nightingale for 2004-2006.
Wildlife
Nightingale Island is known as a breeding ground for various types of seabirds; over a million birds are estimated to breed on the island, with Great Shearwaters being among the most abundant. There are four wetland areas on the island which each contain hundreds of Yellow-nosed Albatrosses. As with Inaccessible Island, Nightingale also has a breeding colony of Rockhopper Penguins.
Tourism
Inaccessible and Gough Islands are strict nature reserves, so tourism is not permitted there. However, tourists are permitted to go to Nightingale.
Many tourists to Tristan da Cunha visit Nightingale Island to see the wildlife. Non-Tristanians can only travel there with a guide from Tristan; part of the money they pay the guide goes toward paying for the conservation work being done on the island. Once a year, filmmakers and journalists are permitted to work on the island (for a fee), but they are not allowed to interfere with the private lives of the islanders. Also, Tristan natives visit Nightingale on holiday.
Economy
Fishing companies fish off of the coast of Nightingale, just as they do with Inaccessible.
Nightingale also has guano deposits.
References in literature
Edgar Allan Poe's Narrative of A. Gordon Pym alluded to Nightingale Island, Inaccessible Island, and Tristan da Cunha.
See also
External links
- The Annals of Tristan da Cunha (http://www.btinternet.com/~sa_sa/tristan_da_cunha/annals_main.html) - gives comprehensive history of Tristan da Cunha, Inaccessible, and Nightingale from their initial discovery to 1925 (PDF file)
- Tristan da Cunha News: A conservation project on Nightingale Island (http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1343.html)
- The Loneliest Place in the World (http://www.losttreasure.com/newsletter/4-15-2001/4-15-2001.html)
- [http://www.underthesun.cc/Classics/Poe/NarrativeofAGordonPym/NarrativeofAGordonPym16.html Etext of Chapter 15 of Narrative of A. Gordon Pym by Edgar Allan Poe - the chapter that contains the references to Tristan, Inaccessible, and Nightingale
- Wildlife Worldwide (http://www.wildlifeworldwide.com/holiday.jsp?id=102) - gives a suggestion for a wildlife expedition to the South Atlantic, including Nightingale
- Tristan da Cunha website (http://website.lineone.net/~sthelena/tristaninfo.htm) - includes information about visiting Nightingale
