Robinson Crusoe Island, formerly known as Más a Tierra (Closer to land) or
Aguas Buenas, is the largest island of the Chilean Juan Fernández
archipelago, situated 674 kilometres west of South America in the South
Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is made up of three islands, Robinson Crusoe,
Alejandro Selkirk and the small Santa Clara.
Geography
The island has a mountainous and undulating terrain, formed by ancient lava
flows which have built up from numerous volcanic episodes. The highest point
on the island is 916 metres above sea level at El Yunque. Intense erosion
has resulted in the formation of steep valleys and ridges. A narrow
peninsula is formed in the southwestern part of the island called Cordon
Escarpado. The island of Santa Clara is 1.5 km from the coast off the
southern part of the island. The western end of the island is lower and
drier than the other parts. The climate is distinctly Mediterranean, with
clearly defined warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters.
Flora and fauna
As World Biosphere Reserves since 1977, these islands have been considered
of maximum scientific importance because of the endemic species of flora and
fauna (101 of the 146 native species of plants are endemic.) The Magellanic
Penguin is found at Robinson Crusoe Island. The Juan Fernández Firecrown is
an endemic and critically endangered red hummingbird and is most famous for
its needle-fine black beak and silken feather coverage.
History
The island was first named Juan Fernandez Island after the Spanish captain
who first landed there in 1574.
It was here that the sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned in 1704 and lived
in solitude for four years and four months. Selkirk had been gravely
concerned for the seaworthiness of his ship, the Cinque Ports, and declared
his wish to be left on the island during a mid-voyage restocking stop. His
captain, Thomas Stradling, a colleague on the voyage of privateer and
explorer William Dampier, was tired of his dissent and obliged by leaving
Selkirk. All he had brought with him was a musket, gunpowder, carpenter's
tools, a knife, a Bible and some clothing. The sailor inspired Daniel Defoe
to write the classic novel, Robinson Crusoe. To reflect the literary lore
associated with the island, the Chilean government named the location
Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966. In 1840, Richard Henry Dana, Jr. described
the port of Juan-Fernandez in his classic Two Years Before the Mast as a
young prison colony.
At Más a Tierra, Admiral Maximilian von Spee's cruiser squadron stopped and
re-coaled between 26-28 October 1914, during World War I. It was here, too,
that the Admiral was unexpectedly rejoined by the armed merchant cruiser
Prinz Eitel Friedrich, which he had earlier detached to attack Allied
shipping in Australian waters. Here was also the location of the Battle of
Más a Tierra.
Culture
Robinson Crusoe has a population of 500–600 living in the village of San
Juan Bautista. Although the community maintains a rustic serenity dependent
on the spiny lobster trade, residents employ a few vehicles, a satellite
internet connection, and many television sets. There is an airstrip on the
island, near the tip of the island's southwestern peninsula. The flying time
from Santiago de Chile is just under three hours, and there is a ferry from
the airstrip to San Juan Bautista.
Tourists number in the hundreds per year. One activity gaining popularity is scuba diving, particularly on the wreck of the German light cruiser SMS Dresden, which was scuttled in Cumberland Bay during the Battle of Más a Tierra during the First World War.
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