Isla Magdalena (Magallanes)
| Isla Magdalena | ||
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| Waters | Strait of Magellan | |
| Geographical location | 52 ° 55 '10 " S , 70 ° 34' 38" W | |
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| length | 650 m | |
| width | 1.7 km | |
| surface | 85 ha | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
The Isla Magdalena is an uninhabited island in the south of Chile . The island in the Strait of Magellan is an important breeding area for the Magellanic penguin .
location
Isla Magdalena is located about 35 kilometers northeast of the city of Punta Arenas in the middle of the Strait of Magellan. The closest larger island is Isla Isabel in the northwest.
history
Historians are certain that Ferdinand Magellan passed the island on his circumnavigation in 1520. This episode is also described by Antonio Pigafetta in his book With Magellan around the earth - An eyewitness account of the first circumnavigation of the world .
In 1902 a lighthouse was built on the highest point of the island . The tower has been powered by a wind turbine since 1955. In 1976 the building was placed under a preservation order. Today the lighthouse works fully automatically and also serves as an observation tower and information center.
climate
The island has the temperate and cold climate typical of southern Chile . The mean annual temperature is around 8 ° C. In the winter months, temperatures are around 0 ° C, in summer it is an average of 14.9 ° C. The mean annual precipitation is around 300 to 400 mm.
Flora and fauna
The island's flora is limited to a few sparsely growing grasses. Isla Magdalena is an important breeding area for penguins , cormorants and various species of seagulls . From October to March the island is populated by over 60,000 pairs of Magellanic penguins . Maned seals and South American fur seals also settle in the southwest of the island .
Conservation and Tourism
Together with Isla Marta to the north, Isla Magdalena was classified as a "Parque Nacional de Turismo" in 1966. In 1982 it was designated a natural monument. Both islands are now part of the National Park “Monumento Nacional Los Pingüinos”. Fishing is prohibited within 30 kilometers of the island. Since 1998 there has been a monitoring program by the Chilean government in cooperation with the English government, which documents the development of the penguin population and the effects of tourism. In comparisons with the penguins on the Falkland Islands , where commercial fishing is allowed, researchers have found that the animals on Isla Magdalena are significantly more vital, have more young and that the island's total population is growing steadily. Negative effects on the penguins have been recorded as a result of climate change , for example the increase in the population of skuas that feed on penguins' eggs and juveniles.
Isla Magdalena can be reached by ferry from Punta Arenas. Every year over 20,000 tourists visit the island, mainly to watch the numerous breeding penguins.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Antonio Pigafetta: Magellan's Voyage: A Narrative Account of the First Circumnavigation . Dover Publications (new edition), New York 1969, ISBN 0-486-28099-3 , pp. 53 (English, limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Tim Burford: Chile - The Bradt Travel Guide . The Globe Pequot Press, Guilford 2006, ISBN 978-1-84162-076-3 , pp. 618 (English, limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ a b c d Isla Magdalena. Monumento Natural los Pinguinos. Chile365, accessed December 6, 2018 (Spanish).
- ↑ Susanne Asal: Chile with Easter Island . Dumont, 2013, ISBN 978-3-7701-7723-3 , pp. 278 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ El Monumento Nacional de los Pingüinos: Isla Magdalena, Punta Arenas, Chile. seabird.org, accessed December 7, 2018 (Spanish).
- ↑ a b Isla Magdalena, paraíso de los pingüinos, amenazada por clima. El Comercio, March 7, 2014, accessed December 6, 2018 (Spanish).