Vostok (island)

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Vostok
Vostok seen from the sea
Vostok seen from the sea
Waters Pacific Ocean
Archipelago Line Islands
Geographical location 10 ° 3 '43 "  S , 152 ° 18' 46"  W Coordinates: 10 ° 3 '43 "  S , 152 ° 18' 46"  W
Vostok (island) (Kiribati)
Vostok (island)
length 700 m
width 600 m
surface 24 ha
Highest elevation 5  m
Residents uninhabited

Vostok ( English Vostok Island ) is an uninhabited coral island in the Pacific Ocean south of the equator . Geographically, it belongs to the southern Line Islands and politically it is part of the island state of Kiribati . In the past, the island was also called Anne Island, Leavitts Island, Reaper Island or Staver Island , and different spellings were used such as Vostock Island, Wostok Island or Wostock Island .

geography

Vostok is about 158 ​​km northwest of the neighboring island of Flint and a good 230 km west of the Caroline Atoll . The next inhabited island is Penrhyn, 621 km to the west . The island has a length of about 0.7 km, a width of about 0.6 km and an area of ​​0.24 km² and reaches a height of 5 m above sea level. The approximately triangular shaped coral island is partially surrounded by a coral reef ; landing by boat is considered difficult.

history

The island was discovered on August 3, 1820 by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen , a Baltic German seafarer in Russian service. He named it after his ship Vostok ( Восток ), the Russian word for "East", but did not land on it. Citing the Guano Islands Act , passed in 1856 , Vostok was claimed by the United States , but not taken possession of. In contrast to the islands of Flint or Starbuck , guano was never mined. Slammed into the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1916 , Vostok belongs to the state of Kiribati, which was founded in 1979.

Flora and fauna

The flora and fauna of the island were able to develop largely undisturbed by humans. The entire interior of the island is densely covered by Pisonia trees ( Pisonia grandis ), which can reach heights of up to 20 m and hardly allow other plants to grow. Only Boerhavia repens occurs at the edge of the forest. On the other hand, there is a great variety of seabirds on Vostok: The black tern (Onychoprion fuscatus) , the red-footed booby ( Sula sula ), the banded frigatebird ( Fregata minor ), the fairy tern ( Gygis alba ) and the white-capped noddi ( Anous minutus ) breed here . The only reptile found on the island is the blue- tailed slimskink ( Emoia cyanura ), which is widespread in the Pacific .

Vostok was founded in 1979 by the United Nations to reserve Vostok Iceland Wildlife Sanctuary explained.

  • photos

  • Pisonia trees on the beach "clipped" by the wind

  • A dense forest of Pisonia grandis

  • Fairy terns ( Gygis alba ) over Vostok

  • View from the west coast of the Pacific

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UNEP Islands (English)