Le Pouce

Le Pouce
	the finger-shaped "Le Pouce"
height	812 m
location	Mauritius
Mountains	Moka Range
Dominance	232 km
Notch height	828 m
Coordinates	20 ° 11 '50 " S , 57 ° 31' 43" O Coordinates: 20 ° 11 '50 " S , 57 ° 31' 43" O

Le Pouce ( lə-pus ; Eng .: "The thumb") is the third highest mountain in Mauritius . It reaches a height of 812 m (2664 feet). Only the Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire ( 828 m ) and Pieter Both ( 820 m ) are higher.

Surname

Its name is derived from the finger-shaped shape of the summit. This is how the mountain was already called at the time of Charles Darwin , who climbed the mountain on May 2, 1836.

geography

The mountain can be seen from the capital of Mauritius, Port Louis , and is a popular hiking destination for panoramic views of the city. It lies in the Moka Range , which surrounds the capital in a semicircle, and is closest to the village of La Laura-Malenga in the Moka district .

The mascarens were created by a hotspot . Le Pouce is the second highest peak of the Moka Range, which arose about 10 million years ago. It is made of basalt .

Le Pouce is overgrown with guavas and acacia plants, which were first introduced by humans. One endemic plant species is Pandanus pseudomontanus (Le Pouce Mountain Screwpine; Le Pouce screw palm). This plant is not formally included in the IUCN Red List of IUCN added, however, is regarded as "Critically Endangered" (Critically endangered). The only two individuals known to grow in Le Pouce Mountain Nature Reserve . Since both plants of the dioecious species are male, the species is on the verge of extinction.

hike

Hikes to the top of Le Pouce are considered easy. Nevertheless, the ascent is very steep. There are routes from Moka or Port Louis. From the summit there is a view of Port Louis, Moka and Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill .

history

Darwin climbed the mountain during the second voyage on the HMS Beagle . He reports in his diary:

"[2. May] I climbed La Pouce, a mountain so named because of its thumb-shaped protrusion, which rises to an altitude of 2,600 feet near the city. The center of the island consists of a large platform surrounded by old broken basalt mountains, the strata of which slope towards the sea. The central platform, formed from comparatively new lava flows, is oval in shape, thirteen geographic miles in diameter, in the line of the shorter axis. The adjoining outer mountains belong to the class of structures called craters od elevation, which are said to have formed like ordinary craters, but broken up by a large and sudden one. In my opinion there are unsurmountable contradictions to this view: on the other hand, I can hardly believe, in this, as in other cases, that these marginal crater-shaped mountains are just the basal remnants of an immense volcano, the tips of which have either been bombed away or swallowed up by underground abysses. "

gallery

The view of Port Louis from the summit
The Moka Range from the top of Le Pouce
A view of "The Thumb" from a hiking trail
Panoramic view of Mauritius from Le Pouce

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c ^d ^e Jan Dodd: Mauritius, Réunion & Seychelles . Lonely Planet , 2004, ISBN 1-74059-301-4 , p. 89.
^ Ross Kingston Dowling: Global Geotourism Perspectives . Goodfellow Publishers, 2010, ISBN 978-1-906884-17-8 , p. 86.
^ Charles Darwin: The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online . Pp. 483-485.
^ Mascarene Islands (islands, Indian Ocean) . Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
↑ ^a ^b Schematic Structural Evolution of Mauritius . Mauritian Government (gov.mu). Retrieved February 27, 2012.
^ Julian Hume: The Fossil Record of Mascarene Vertebrates . Pp. 131-2.
↑ Species of the Day: Le Pouce Mountain Screwpine . IUCN. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
↑ [On 2 May] I ascended La Pouce, a mountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which rises close behind the town to a height of 2600 feet. The center of the island consists of a great platform, surrounded by old broken basaltic mountains, with their strata dipping seawards. The central platform, formed of comparatively recent streams of lava, is of an oval shape, thirteen geographical miles across, in the line of its shorter axis. The exterior bounding mountains come into that class of structures called Craters of Elevation, which are supposed to have been formed not like ordinary craters, but by a great and sudden upheaval. There appears to me to be insuperable objections to this view: on the other hand, I can hardly believe, in this and in some other cases, that these marginal crateriform mountains are merely the basal remnants of immense volcanos, of which the summits either have been blown off, or swallowed up in subterranean abysses.

Web links

Commons : Le Pouce - collection of images, videos and audio files

[LP-1] A ^b ^c ^d ^e Jan Dodd: Mauritius, Réunion & Seychelles . Lonely Planet , 2004, ISBN 1-74059-301-4 , p. 89.

[2] Ross Kingston Dowling: Global Geotourism Perspectives . Goodfellow Publishers, 2010, ISBN 978-1-906884-17-8 , p. 86.

[Darwin-3] Charles Darwin: The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online . Pp. 483-485.

[4] Mascarene Islands (islands, Indian Ocean) . Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 27, 2012.

[SchematicStruct-5] Schematic Structural Evolution of Mauritius . Mauritian Government (gov.mu). Retrieved February 27, 2012.

[6] Julian Hume: The Fossil Record of Mascarene Vertebrates . Pp. 131-2.

[7] Species of the Day: Le Pouce Mountain Screwpine . IUCN. Retrieved February 27, 2012.

[8] [On 2 May] I ascended La Pouce, a mountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which rises close behind the town to a height of 2600 feet. The center of the island consists of a great platform, surrounded by old broken basaltic mountains, with their strata dipping seawards. The central platform, formed of comparatively recent streams of lava, is of an oval shape, thirteen geographical miles across, in the line of its shorter axis. The exterior bounding mountains come into that class of structures called Craters of Elevation, which are supposed to have been formed not like ordinary craters, but by a great and sudden upheaval. There appears to me to be insuperable objections to this view: on the other hand, I can hardly believe, in this and in some other cases, that these marginal crateriform mountains are merely the basal remnants of immense volcanos, of which the summits either have been blown off, or swallowed up in subterranean abysses.