Coordinates: 26°19′S 80°00′W / 26.32°S 80°W / -26.32; -80 (Desventuradas Islands)

Desventuradas Islands

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Desventuradas Islands
Native name:
Islas Desventuradas
Map of Desventuradas Islands, also known as San Félix Islands
Map of Desventuradas Islands, also known as San Félix Islands
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Geography
LocationChilean Sea
CoordinatesLua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
ArchipelagoDesventuradas
Adjacent toPacific Ocean
Total islands4
Major islandsSan Ambrosio, San Félix, Gonzalez and Roca Catedral
Area5.36 km2 (2.07 sq mi)(together)
Highest elevation479 m (1572 ft) max.
Administration
RegionFile:Flag of Valparaiso Region, Chile.svg Valparaíso
ProvinceValparaíso Province
CommuneValparaíso
Demographics
Population11
Additional information
Time zone
 • Summer (DST)
NGA UFI=
-900077 "San Ambrosio"
-883263 "Gonzáles"
-900282 "San Félix"

The Desventuradas Islands (Spanish: Islas Desventuradas,[2] IPA: [ˈislas ðesβentuˈɾaðas], "Unfortunate Islands" or Islas de los Desventurados, "Islands of the Unfortunate Ones"[3]) is a group of four small oceanic islands located 850 kilometres (530 mi) off the coast of Chile, northwest of Santiago in the Pacific Ocean.[4] They are considered part of Insular Chile.

Due to their isolation and difficulty of access there are no civilian settlements on these islands, but a detachment of the Chilean Navy is stationed on Isla San Félix, which also hosts the 2,000-metre (6,600 ft) Isla San Felix Airport.

History

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Prehistory

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No signs of prehistoric human activity by Polynesians or Indigenous peoples of the Americas have ever been found on the islands, or on the neighboring Juan Fernández Islands.[5] Michael Levinson's 1973 book The Settlement of Polynesia states, "the Juan Fernández Islands and San Felix and San Ambrosio were apparently unoccupied in pre-Columbian times and were not discovered by the Spanish until between 1563 and 1574. There is no evidence available to suggest that they were visited for fishing or other reasons by Amerindians before this."[6]

Discovery

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File:Isla San Félix y San Ambrosio (Islas Desventuradas) como parte del reino de Chile en el mapa de Cano y Olmedilla de 1775.jpg
The islands in the 1775 Olmedilla's map, showing them as part of Chile.

The islands were possibly discovered by Ferdinand Magellan as early as 1521. The first confirmed sighting was by Juan Fernández on 6 November 1574 while voyaging from Callao to Valparaíso.[7] Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa wrote in 1579 that "they are now called after St. Felix and St. Ambor (i.e. Felix and Nabor)". However, the name of the martyr Ambor (Nabor) became confused with that of the more famous bishop Saint Ambrose (San Ambrosio).[8][9] It is, probably, one of these islands that Captain John Davis struck one night in 1686. He was able to continue his voyage but erroneously reported the position of the incident.[10]

The islands as part of the Kingdom of Chile

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File:Las islas San Félix, San Ambrosio y de Pascua mencionadas en el Compendio de la historia geográfica, natural y civil del reyno de Chile de 1776.jpg
The islands are mentioned in an 18th Century book about the geography of the Kingdom of Chile.

The San Félix and San Ambrosio Islands of the Desventuradas Archipelago, as well as Easter Island, are mentioned by the abbot Giovanni Ignazio Molina as part of Chilean territory in his work Compendio de la historia geográfica, natural y civil del reyno de Chile (1788),[11] and therefore are considered part of the territory inherited by Chile under the principle of uti possidetis iuris.

20th century

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San Felix played a part in the Falklands War. In May 1982, the Chilean government allowed an RAF Nimrod R1 to fly signals reconnaissance sorties from the island, gathering information on Argentine Air Force movements.[12][13]

Ecology

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Further information: San Félix–San Ambrosio Islands temperate forests

Vegetation of the larger islands is a miniature mosaic of matorral, barren rock, various sizes of trees, and shrubs mixed with ferns and perennial herbs. Sonchus laceratus is an endemic shrub species. The large islands, San Félix and San Ambrosio, are home to a critical WWF recognized temperate forest biome.

The marine fauna shares close affinities with the south Pacific and the central Pacific, more so than with the nearing South America. This is partly due to the Humboldt Current, which helps create a powerful biogeographic barrier between these islands and South America.[14]

There are no permanent sources of fresh water on any of the islands. Vertebrates inhabiting both of the largest islands are limited to birds. Ten species of marine birds and one land bird species, some of them endangered, make their nests on or visit the islands. The island group has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it is a breeding site for large numbers of Masatierra petrels.[15]

Geology

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List of islands and location

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The Desventuradas Islands, from east to west:

Island/Rock Area
(km2)		 Peak
Elevation (m)		 Geographical
Coordinates
San Ambrosio 3.1 479 Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
San Felix group
Islote González 0.25 173 Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
San Félix 2 Cerro Amarillo, 193 Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
Roca Catedral 0.01 53 Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
Total 5.36 479  

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ ADM - Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies; Pacific Ocean: South America, W Coast: Chile: Islas de los Desventurados and Islas Juan Fernandez;
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  6. ^ https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/114825/2/b13217963.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  9. ^ Brand, Donald D. The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.127.
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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