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Gough and Inaccessible Islands*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type	Natural
Criteria	vii, x
Reference	740
Region†	The Americas
Inscription History
Inscription	1995  (19th Session)
Extensions	2004
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Inaccessible Island is an extinct volcano, 14 km² (5.5 sq mi) in area, rising out of the South Atlantic Ocean 45 km (28 mi) southwest of Tristan da Cunha. Inaccessible Island is located at 37°19′S 12°44′W / -37.317, -12.733Coordinates: 37°19′S 12°44′W / -37.317, -12.733. It is a territory of the United Kingdom though throughout its history it has had no permanent population. Together with Gough Island, it is a protected wildlife reserve which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Inaccessible Island may refer to: Inaccessible Island, South Atlantic Inaccessible Island (Dellbridge Islands) Inaccessible Islands (South Orkney Islands) Category: ... Gough Island (occasionally referred to (erroneously) as Diego Alvarez) is a volcanic island rising from the South Atlantic Ocean to heights of over 900 metres (2950 ft) above sea level with an area of approximately 65 km² (25 mi²). It is part of Tristan da Cunha, a dependency of the... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2787x2441, 853 KB) Summary Map of Tristan da Cunha Group, Southern Atlantic Ocean drawn by varp Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Tristan da Cunha ... As of 2006, there are a total of 830 World Heritage Sites located in 138 State Parties. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. ... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... An Extinct volcano is a volcano which is not currently erupting and which is not considered likely to erupt in the future. ... Motto Our faith is our strength Anthem God Save the Queen Capital (and largest city) Edinburgh of the Seven Seas Official languages English Government Dependency of St. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Gough Island (occasionally referred to (erroneously) as Diego Alvarez) is a volcanic island rising from the South Atlantic Ocean to heights of over 900 metres (2950 ft) above sea level with an area of approximately 65 km² (25 mi²). It is part of Tristan da Cunha, a dependency of the... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ...

History and expeditions

Inaccessible Island was first accessed in 1652 during a voyage by 't Nachtglas, a Dutch ship, 146 years after Tristan da Cunha was first sighted by Portuguese sailors. When mapped by sailors, the newly found island was referred to as "inaccessible" since the crew who landed were not able to travel far into the island. Such challenges have persisted, but several expeditions have gone deeper into the island to uncover more details about its wildlife. // Events April 6 - Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope, and founded Cape Town. ...

The Stoltenhoff brothers, who arrived on Inaccessible from Germany in 1871, lived there for several years intending to make a living sealing and selling their wares to passing traders (forgetting how infrequently Inaccessible had visitors). However, due to the scarcity of food, were rescued in 1873 during HMS Challenger's visit to examine the flora and fauna there. The South African author Eric Rosenthal chronicled the Stoltenhoffs' adventure in his book Shelter from the Spray (published in 1952 in South Africa and currently very rare). 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The fifth HMS Challenger (launched 1858) was a steam assisted British naval corvette. ... Eric Rosenthal is the vice president of U.S. International Council on Disabilities, and also the founder and executive director of Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI), a human rights advocacy group which documents and reports on international conditions for people with mental disabilities, with a view towards protecting their rights. ...

In 1922, Ernest Shackleton's ship, the Quest, stopped by Inaccessible briefly, and a botanist on board discovered a bird later named (after him) the Wilkins Bunting (Nesospiza wilkinsi). Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO, OBE (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Irish explorer who was knighted for the success of the 1907-09 British Antarctic Expedition under his command. ... Binomial name Lowe, 1923 The Grosbeak Bunting, Wilkinss Bunting or Wilkinss Finch (Nesospiza wilkinsi) is a species of bird in the Emberizidae family. ...

Norwegian scientists made an expedition in 1938 in which they spent three weeks at Inaccessible, cataloguing plants, birds, and rocks. Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After World War II,a scheme was devised to make Inaccessible into a yeast and bear farm, but it fell through. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Another attempt at mapping the island was made during the Royal Society's expedition of 1962 to Tristan da Cunha, which took scientists to Inaccessible Island. Like many other explorers before them, the scientists were not able to reach the interior of the island. For other uses, see Royal Society (disambiguation). ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Inaccessible Island was declared a nature reserve under the Tristan da Cunha Conservation Ordinance of 1976. Tristan islanders, however, were still permitted to harvest seabirds from the island. Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The most successful expedition to Inaccessible Island to date was the 1982 expedition by students and faculty of Denstone College. Staying at the island from October 25, 1982, until February 9, 1983, they made detailed maps of the island, studied its flora, fauna, and geology, and carried out a marking programme on more than 3000 birds. Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Denstone College is a private coeducational boarding school in Denstone, Staffordshire, England and a member school of the Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference. ... is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1997, Inaccessible Island's territorial waters out to 22 km (14 mi) were declared a nature reserve under the Tristan da Cunha Conservation Ordinance of 1976. Currently, only guides from Tristan are allowed to take visiting cruise ships to Inaccessible; indeed, most trips to the island are now made at the request of expatriates and missionaries. For the band, see 1997 (band). ...

Shipwrecks

Due to poor navigation charts, 19th-century sailing ships had to be guided by islands in waters where their crew did not know much about the currents. Shipwrecks were common; at least 22 have occurred in the region of Tristan da Cunha, and at least three confirmed shipwrecks have occurred off the coast of Inaccessible Island.

The first, and most dramatic, was that of the Blenden Hall, a British ship chartered to the East India Company, which set sail in 1821 with 84 passengers and crew aboard. Intending to sail past Saint Helena, it was carried instead towards Tristan da Cunha due to adverse currents. It ran aground on Inaccessible Island and suffered a broken back, but the forecastle was carried inshore. All but two of those aboard survived the shipwreck, and, subsisting on wild celery, seals, penguins, and albatross, managed to build boats some months later. The first attempt to sail to Tristan failed, resulting in the loss of six people, but the second attempt alerted the Tristanians to their plight. The remainder were then brought to Tristan, where most of them were later taken away by a brig to Cape Town, South Africa. The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was the first joint-stock company (the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue public stock). ... Year 1821 (MDCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Brigantine. ... Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope Cape Town (Afrikaans, Dutch: Kaapstad; Xhosa: eKapa or SaseKapa), is one of South Africas three capital cities serving as the legislative capital (executive capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital). ...

Later shipwrecks included the wreck of the Shakespeare at Pig Beach in 1883 and the Helen S Lea at North Point in 1897. Year 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Wildlife

Inaccessible Island is perhaps best known for the Inaccessible Island Rail, the world's smallest living flightless bird. Other birds found at Inaccessible include the wandering albatross, rockhopper penguin, Tristan thrush, and the Antarctic tern. [1] Binomial name Atlantisia rogersi Lowe, 1923 The Inaccessible Island Rail, Atlantisia rogersi, is a small bird of the rail family, Rallidae. ... Binomial name Diomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758 The Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans), is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. ... Binomial name Eudyptes chrysocome Forster,, 1781 The Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome) is a species of penguin closely related to the Macaroni Penguin. ... Binomial name Gould, 1855 The Tristan Thrush (Nesocichla eremita) is a species of bird in the Turdidae family. ... Binomial name Sterna vittata Gmelin, 1789 The Antarctic Tern (Sterna vittata) is a typical tern. ...

When Corporal William Glass and his family became the first settlers at Tristan da Cunha in 1816, goats and pigs were brought to Inaccessible Island to serve as a source of food. They remained there for at least 57 years and helped to keep the Stoltenhoff brothers alive during their expedition, but they have now died out. Cattle, sheep, and dogs were also introduced to the island at various points in the island's history, but none remain.

Subantarctic Fur Seals and Southern Elephant Seals have also been spotted at Inaccessible Island in ever-increasing numbers, and whales live in the surrounding waters. Binomial name Arcetocephalus tropcalis , The Subantarctic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) is a fur seal found in the southern parts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. ... Binomial name Mirounga leonina Linnaeus, 1758 The Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) is one of two species of elephant seal (the other is the Northern Elephant Seal). ...

No land mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, or snails have recently been found at Inaccessible. In 1982, a student from Denstone University reported seeing a snail, but he is thought to have been overcome by drink at the time. However, Inaccessible Island does have 64 native plant species, including 20 types of flowering plants and 17 species of ferns. In addition, 48 native invertebrate species exist on the island, 10 of which were introduced. [2] For other uses, see Flower (disambiguation). ... Classes Psilotopsida Equisetopsida Marattiopsida Pteridopsida (Polypodiopsida) this dnt make sense A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta. ...

Economy

Inaccessible Island has been used by the islanders of Tristan da Cunha for several economic purposes. The island has guano deposits and eggs, but due to the difficulty of travelling about the island, the islanders have generally chosen to go to Nightingale Island instead. However, three company ships fish off the coast of Inaccessible. They are permitted by the Tristan De Cunha conservation ordinance of 1976 to approach within 3000 meters of the shore. The Chincha guano islands in Peru. ... Nightingale Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean located just south of Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island. ...

References in literature

Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket alluded to Nightingale Island, Inaccessible Island, and Tristan da Cunha. Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, playwright, editor, literary critic, essayist and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ... The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is Edgar Allan Poes only complete novel, published in 1838. ...

In Patrick O'Brian's The Thirteen Gun Salute (1989), pp. 120-29, Captain Aubrey's ship Diane, in a dead calm, is carried toward Inaccessible Island by the inshore current. One of the sailors recounts the wreck of a whaling ship that he witnessed, drawn to the island in similar conditions and lost with all hands. As the ship drifts closer and closer, the boats are put out to tow it away, but it nevertheless continues to draw nearer, especially when it enters kelp beds near the island that make it more difficult to tow. Comparing the ship's forward motion with its lateral drift, it becomes obvious to Aubrey, only a quarter mile away from the end of the vertical cliff, that the rowers cannot pull the ship away in time. The episode is depicted in the cover painting of the book showing the towering cliffs plunging directly into the sea. Patrick OBrian (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000; born as Richard Patrick Russ) was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centered on the friendship of Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish... This book is part of the Aubrey-Maturin series The Thirteen Gun Salute, (1989) is a further historical novel in the series by Patrick OBrian. ...

Sea Lion, the pseudonym of "a serving naval officer" (Geoffrey Martin Bennett), wrote "The Phantom Fleet", a novel that was predicated on the supposition that Inaccessible Island contained a natural harbour, the entrance to which was concealed from the sea. The antagonists were assembling a fleet of obsolescent warships in this harbour, with the intention of striking a coup de main leading to world domination; a scheme foiled by the derring-do of a naval officer and the guns of the Royal Navy.

External links

• Inaccessible Island: Tristan da Cunha website
• History of Inaccessible Island, South Atlantic Ocean
• Tristan Times: Inaccessible Island expedition
• Inaccessible Island shipwrecks
• Protected Areas Programme: Gough Island Wildlife Reserve
• Online Encyclopedia: Tristan da Cunha
• University of Central Lancashire: Inaccessible Island
• Geology of Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island

Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha | Inaccessible Island | Nightingale Islands (Nightingale Island | Middle Island | Stoltenhoff Island) | Gough Island

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Map of Tristan da Cunha, showing Middle Island Middle Island is a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the Nightingale Islands. ... Map of Tristan da Cunha, showing Stoltenhoff Island Stoltenhoff Island is a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the Nightingale Islands. ... Gough Island (occasionally referred to (erroneously) as Diego Alvarez) is a volcanic island rising from the South Atlantic Ocean to heights of over 900 metres (2950 ft) above sea level with an area of approximately 65 km² (25 mi²). It is part of Tristan da Cunha, a dependency of the... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... 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Overseas territories	Henderson Island · Gough Island and Inaccessible Island · St. George's Town Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... For other uses, see Giants Causeway (disambiguation). ... Location of the British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories are fourteen[1] territories which the United Kingdom considers to be under its sovereignty, but not as part of the United Kingdom itself. ... Henderson Island is an uninhabited uplifted coral island in the south Pacific Ocean, annexed to the Pitcairn Islands colony in 1902. ... Gough Island (occasionally referred to (erroneously) as Diego Alvarez) is a volcanic island rising from the South Atlantic Ocean to heights of over 900 metres (2950 ft) above sea level with an area of approximately 65 km² (25 mi²). It is part of Tristan da Cunha, a dependency of the... St. ...