Chincha Islands
| Chincha Islands | ||
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| Waters | Bahía de Pisco, Pacific Ocean | |
| Geographical location | 13 ° 38 ′ S , 76 ° 23 ′ W | |
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| Number of islands | 3 | |
| Main island | Isla Chincha Centro | |
| Total land area | 0.92 km² | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
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The Chincha Islands (Spanish Islas Chincha ) are a group of three small islands 21 km off the southwest coast of Peru near the city of Pisco . They belong to the San Clemente district immediately north of Pisco. Their total area is 92 hectares or just under one square kilometer.
geography
Administratively, the islands belong to Peru. The islands consist largely of granite rock and are bordered on all sides by cliffs that are inhabited by large numbers of sea birds. The two largest islands, Isla Chincha Norte (36 ha) and Isla Chincha Centro (40 ha), are each 1,300 m long and up to 900 m wide, Isla Chincha Norte rises to 34 m . Isla Chincha Sur (16 ha) with 800 m × 600 m is less than half the size of the two neighboring islands.
colonization
The coastline of this region, as well as the three islands, were inhabited by the Chincha between about 1000 and 1476 before they were conquered by the Inca ; However, only a few remains on the islands indicate this settlement today.
meaning
The archipelago was of economic importance in the 19th century in particular due to its guano deposits, which reached a thickness of up to 30 m. Spain occupied the Peruvian islands in April 1864 in order to benefit from guano mining, after which the so-called Chincha Island War raged between Spain and Peru until 1866 . The guano deposits have been largely exhausted since 1874, and the use of guano in the 20th century was largely replaced by artificial fertilizers .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Islas Chincha, ínsulas guaneras peruanas por excelencia (with area data)