Disappointment Island

This article describes a New Zealand island. The Disappointment Islands of the same name , a group of atolls located in French Polynesia, are described in the article Îles du Désappointement .

Disappointment Island
NASA image of the Auckland Islands Disappointment Island can be found in the middle left of the picture
Waters	South pacific
Archipelago	Auckland Islands
Geographical location	50 ° 36 '15 "  S , 165 ° 58' 29"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 36 '15 "  S , 165 ° 58' 29"  E
length	3.5 km
width	1.7 km
surface	3 km²
Highest elevation	315  m
Residents	uninhabited
Map of the Auckland Islands, with Disappointment Island to the west

Disappointment Iceland (dt. About "Island of disappointment") is the fourth largest island of to New Zealand belonging Auckland Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean .

geography

Disappointment Island is located about 460 km south of New Zealand's South Island and about 6 km west of Auckland Island , separated from it by a 73 meter deep passage. It is 3.5 km long, up to 1.7 km wide and has an area of ​​about 3 km². The highly rugged and hilly island is characterized by steep coastal cliffs of basalt and reaches a height of 315 m above sea level.

history

The grave of a sailor who was killed in the Dundonald accident in 1907

Like the entire archipelago, Disappointment Island was discovered for Europe on August 18, 1806. On May 14, 1866, the General Grant crashed on the west coast of Auckland Island. 15 survivors made it to Disappointment Island and were not rescued until 18 months later. On March 7, 1907, the four-masted barque Dundonald ran aground on the west coast of the island and sank. The 16 survivors had to wait seven months on the island before they were rescued.

Flora and fauna

The island is - next to Adams Island - one of the last two retreats of the endemic Auckland rail ( Lewinia muelleri ), which was considered extinct and only rediscovered in 1966 . The island is also known for numerous seabirds , including around 72,000 pairs, almost the entire world population of Thalassarche cauta steadi , a subspecies of the white-capped albatross ( Thalassarche cauta ).

literature

• Ronald Jones: Gold Sunken - General Grant . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 (English, online and 2 other pages [accessed December 15, 2015]).

Web links

• An aerial view of the island
• "The Coracle of Disappointment Island" (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jones: Gold Sunken - General Grant . In: An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . 1966.
2. ↑ Wrecked on the Auckland Islands in 1907 (English)
3. ↑ Auckland Rail - BirdLife Species Factsheet 2007 (English)
4. ↑ White-capped Albatross - BirdLife Species Factsheet 2008 (English)