Bounty Islands
Encyclopedia
The Bounty Islands at 47°45′S 179°03′E are a small group of 13 granite
islets and numerous rocks, with a combined area of 135 ha (333.6 acre), in the south Pacific Ocean
that are territorially part of New Zealand
. They are located between 47°44'35" and 47°46'10" S, and 179°01' and 179°04'20" E, 650 km (404 mi) southeast of the South Island
of New Zealand. Ecologically, they are part of the Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra
ecoregion
. The group is uninhabited by humans, but is also heavily populated by penguin
s and albatross
es. During the 19th century, it was a popular hunting ground for sealers
.
The whole chain is only 5 km (3.1 mi) across at its longest axis, and comprises three subgroups, the by far largest Main Group to the NW, the Centre Group and the East Group. The total area is only 1.35 km² (0.521237914099922 sq mi), and the highest point is 73 metres (240 ft) above sea level, on Funnel Island. Bounty Islands were discovered by Captain William Bligh
in 1788 and named after his ship, just months before the infamous mutiny.
The islands are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the other sub-Antarctic New Zealand islands in the region as follows: 877-002 Bounty Islands New Zealand S47 45 E179 03 135 Ha 1998
The 13 islands
The islands are at the antipodes
of Bouillé-Ménard
, in France
(Pays-de-la-Loire).
fauna
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
islets and numerous rocks, with a combined area of 135 ha (333.6 acre), in the south Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
that are territorially part of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. They are located between 47°44'35" and 47°46'10" S, and 179°01' and 179°04'20" E, 650 km (404 mi) southeast of the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand. Ecologically, they are part of the Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra
Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra
The Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra ecoregion, within the Tundra Biome, includes five remote island groups in the Southern Ocean south of New Zealand: the Bounty Islands, Auckland Islands, Antipodes Islands and Campbell Island groups of New Zealand, and Macquarie Island of Australia.-Location...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
. The group is uninhabited by humans, but is also heavily populated by penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
s and albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
es. During the 19th century, it was a popular hunting ground for sealers
Seal hunting
Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...
.
The whole chain is only 5 km (3.1 mi) across at its longest axis, and comprises three subgroups, the by far largest Main Group to the NW, the Centre Group and the East Group. The total area is only 1.35 km² (0.521237914099922 sq mi), and the highest point is 73 metres (240 ft) above sea level, on Funnel Island. Bounty Islands were discovered by Captain William Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
in 1788 and named after his ship, just months before the infamous mutiny.
The islands are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the other sub-Antarctic New Zealand islands in the region as follows: 877-002 Bounty Islands New Zealand S47 45 E179 03 135 Ha 1998
The 13 islands
- Main Group (47°45′S 179°02′E):
- Depot Island (largest in the group), named for the castaway depotCastaway depotA castaway depot is a store or hut placed on an isolated island to provide emergency supplies and relief for castaways and victims of shipwrecks...
on the island. - Lion Island
- Penguin Island
- Proclamation Island
- Ranfurly Island
- Ruatara Island
- Spider Island
- Tunnel Island
- Depot Island (largest in the group), named for the castaway depot
- Centre Group (47°45′45"S 179°02′40"E):
- Castle Island
- Funnel Island (main islet)
- Prion Island
- East Group (47°46′S 179°04′E):
- Molly Cap (main islet)
- North Rock
The islands are at the antipodes
Antipodes
In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....
of Bouillé-Ménard
Bouillé-Ménard
Bouillé-Ménard is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France....
, in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(Pays-de-la-Loire).
Angiospermae
- BrassicaceaeBrassicaceaeBrassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
- Lepidium oleraceum
fauna
- see Bounty Islands nonmarine fauna
See also
- List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
- List of islands of New Zealand
- New Zealand sub-antarctic islandsNew Zealand sub-antarctic islandsThe five southernmost groups of the New Zealand Outlying Islands form the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic islands. These islands are collectively designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site....
- Water hemisphereWater hemisphereThe water hemisphere, sometimes capitalised as the Water Hemisphere, is the hemisphere on the Earth containing the largest area of water possible for an exact part of the Earth's surface. It is centered on , near New Zealand's Bounty Islands...