Clarion Island facts for kids
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Native name:
Isla Clarión
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Clarion Island, from Landsat satellite
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| Geography | |
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 18°21′30″N 114°43′30″W / 18.35833°N 114.72500°W |
| Archipelago | Revillagigedo Islands |
| Total islands | 4 |
| Major islands | San Benedicto, Socorro, Roca Partida & Clarión |
| Area | 19.8 km2 (7.6 sq mi) |
| Length | 8.6 km (5.34 mi) |
| Width | 3.7 km (2.3 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 335 m (1,099 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount (Monte) Gallegos |
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Mexico
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| Demographics | |
| Population | 9 |
Clarion Island (which in Spanish is Isla Clarión) is the second largest island in Mexico's Revillagigedo Islands. It is the most western and farthest island in this group. Clarion Island is about 385 kilometers (239 miles) west of Socorro Island. It is almost 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the Mexican mainland.
The island covers an area of 19.8 square kilometers (7.6 square miles). It has three main peaks. The tallest one is Monte Gallegos in the west, which is 335 meters (1,099 feet) high. The middle peak is Monte de la Marina, at 280 meters (919 feet). The eastern peak is Pico de la Tienda, which is 292 meters (958 feet) high.
Most of the coast has steep cliffs, from 24 to 183 meters (79 to 600 feet) tall. But in the middle of the southern coast, near Bahía Azufre (Sulphur Bay), there is a small military base. About 9 soldiers live there.
Clarion Island has only two small pools of water that are a bit salty. These are the only sources of fresh water. They can even dry up in summers if there isn't much rain. You can only reach Clarion by sea. It takes about 30 hours to get there from Mexico.
Contents
Exploring Clarion Island
No one knows if people lived on Clarion Island a long time ago. There are no signs of ancient human activity. The Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos visited the island in late 1542.
After that, the Revillagigedo Islands were mostly forgotten by the Spanish. This changed when an American ship called the Clarion visited around 1820. The island was named after this ship.
In 1959, a book called Handbook of Selected Pacific Islands said that people had never stayed on Clarion for more than a few days. It also said there were no facilities on the island at that time.
Wildlife and Nature
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Clarion Island does not have tall mountains that can cause a lot of rain. Because of this, the island is very dry. It is covered in shrubland, grassland, and opuntia cacti.
Since the island is far from other land, it has fewer unique plants and animals than Socorro Island. But like Socorro, most of its unique species are birds and plants.
Rabbits and wild sheep live on the island. They have caused a lot of damage to the plants. Wild pigs were brought in 1979 and have harmed the local animals. The only native animals that are not birds are two types of snakes and one type of lizard. Both of these are found only on Clarion.
Birds of Clarion
Several types of seabirds nest on Clarion Island. Some of these birds are at the edge of their normal breeding areas here. We need to confirm if they are still breeding on the island. These include:
- Nazca booby
- East Pacific red-footed booby
- East Pacific great frigatebird
Clarion Island seems to attract more shorebirds and other traveling birds than Socorro Island. This might be because Socorro has red-tailed hawks. Many shorebirds gather in the calm, shallow waters of Sulphur Bay.
Birds you might see regularly on Clarion include:
- Great blue heron
- Snowy egret
- White-faced ibis
- Pacific golden plover
- Spotted sandpiper
- Wandering tattler
- Ruddy turnstone
- Black-necked stilt
- Western gull
- Barn swallow
Some birds have only been seen a few times on Clarion. These include the blue-winged teal, western sandpiper, and short-eared owl.
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Animals Found Only on Clarion
Clarion Island is home to several animals that live nowhere else in the world. These are called endemic species.
- Clarión burrowing owl
- Clarión wren (this bird is considered vulnerable, meaning it's at risk)
- Clarión mourning dove
- Clarión Island whipsnake
- Clarión Island tree lizard
- Clarión nightsnake
The Townsend's shearwater is a bird that was once found on Clarion. But it is now likely gone from the island. This is because wild pigs ate the young birds and their eggs.
Plants Found Only on Clarion
Several plant species are also unique to Clarion Island. These include:
- Aristida tenuifolia
- Ipomoea halierca
- Physalis clarionensis
Other plants found on Clarion are also unique to the Revillagigedo Islands. They are shared with San Benedicto or Socorro Island.
Scientists have not recently studied how much the sheep and rabbits have harmed the plants on Clarion. Clarion is one of the islands most affected by these introduced animals.
Images for kids
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Clarion Island, from Landsat satellite
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Map of Clarion Island
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Clarion Island – Map (1:50,000)
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The Clarion angelfish is named after the island.
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Clarión burrowing owl, February 1997
