Disappointment Island
 A photo taken of the island in 1909. | |
 Position of the Auckland Islands relative to New Zealand and other outlying islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°36.25′S 165°58.38′E / 50.60417°S 165.97300°ECoordinates: 50°36.25′S 165°58.38′E / 50.60417°S 165.97300°E |
| Archipelago | Auckland Islands |
| Area | 3.0 km2 (1.2 sq mi) |
| Length | 3.35 km (2.082 mi) |
| Width | 1.53 km (0.951 mi) |
| Demographics | |
| Pop. density | 0/km2 (0/sq mi) |
Disappointment Island is one of seven uninhabited islands in the Auckland Islands archipelago, in New Zealand. It is 475 kilometres (295 mi) south of the country's main South Island and 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the northwest end of Auckland Island. It is home to a large colony of white-capped albatrosses: about 65,000 pairs – nearly the entire world's population – nest there.[1] Also on the island is the Auckland rail, endemic to the archipelago; once thought to be extinct, it was rediscovered in 1966.[2]
History[]
On 7 March 1907, the Dundonald, a steel, four-masted barque, sank after running ashore on the west side of Disappointment Island. Twelve men drowned and sixteen survivors waited seven months for rescue.[3] They survived on supplies from the castaway depot on Auckland Island. The island was visited by a scientific expedition in November 1907.[4]
Etymology[]
The etymology of Disappointment Island is unclear; however, the naming of islands that lacked resources—such as the Disappointment Islands—may have been a contributing factor in its naming.[5] Or, indeed, the occurrence of frequent shipwrecks.[6]
Important Bird Area[]
The island is part of the Auckland Island group Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because of the significance of the group as a breeding site for several species of seabirds as well as the endemic Auckland shag, Auckland teal, Auckland rail, and Auckland snipe.[7]
See also[]
- Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
- Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
- New Zealand subantarctic islands
- List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
- List of islands of New Zealand
- List of islands
- Desert island
References[]
- ^ BBC – Science and Nature Archived 5 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Auckland Islands Rail.
- ^ Wrecked on the Auckland Islands in 1907.
- ^ Cockayne, L. (3 December 1907), "Disappointment Island. A new field. The first scientific visitors. Animals and plants on the island.", The Lyttelton Times, retrieved 20 August 2020
- ^ Evans, Andrew. "A journey to the Disappointment Islands". BBC. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ Kaushik. "The World's Most Depressing Place Names". Amusing Planet. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Auckland Islands. Downloaded from "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) on 2012-01-23.
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- Islands of the Auckland Islands
- Important Bird Areas of the Auckland Islands
- Uninhabited islands of New Zealand
- New Zealand outlying island geography stubs