Oeno Island facts for kids
Satellite photo of Oeno Island
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Southern Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 23°55′36″S 130°44′14″W / 23.92667°S 130.73722°W |
| Total islands | 2–3 |
| Area | 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
Oeno Island, also known as Holiday Island, is a small, beautiful coral atoll in the South Pacific Ocean. It's part of the Pitcairn Islands, which is a British overseas territory. An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef, island, or series of islets that surrounds a lagoon.
Contents
Discover Oeno Island's Geography
Oeno Atoll is located about 143 kilometers (89 miles) northwest of Pitcairn Island. The atoll is about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) wide, including its central lagoon. Its total area is more than 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles).
There are two larger islands and three smaller islets on or within the atoll's edge. All these land areas together are only about 0.69 square kilometers (0.27 square miles). Oeno is a special holiday spot for the few people who live on Pitcairn Island. They travel there and stay for two weeks in January. This is because Oeno has sandy beaches, but Pitcairn Island does not.
The main island, also called Oeno Island, is about 50 hectares (120 acres) in size. It has forests and scrub, with pandanus and palm trees. This island is in the southwest part of the atoll's lagoon. There is even a water tap on the island. The highest point on Oeno is less than 5 meters (16 feet) above sea level. Sandy Island is to the northeast, inside the lagoon. It can sometimes disappear depending on the tides and weather. Three smaller islets are located to the south and west of the main island.
Oeno Island: An Important Bird Area
BirdLife International has named Oeno Island an Important Bird Area (IBA). This is because of its large colony of Murphy's petrels. There are about 12,500 pairs of these birds here. This makes it the second-largest colony of Murphy's petrels in the world! An Important Bird Area is a place that is very important for bird populations.
Maps of Oeno Island
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Map of Oeno Island
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Map of Pitcairn Islands
The History of Oeno Island
Oeno Island has an interesting history, especially with ships and explorers.
- January 1819: Captain James Henderson, from the British East India Company ship Hercules, was the first to see Oeno Island.
- 1822-1823: Captain Ralph Bond, on a sealing ship called Martha, also saw the island around this time.
- 26 January 1824: Captain George Worth was on an American whaling ship named Oeno. He decided to name the atoll after his ship.
- 5 March 1858: A large clipper ship called the Wild Wave was sailing from San Francisco. It crashed and was wrecked on Oeno's coral reef.
- 1875: The ship Khandeish was also wrecked on Oeno.
- 23 August 1883: Another ship, the Oregon, was wrecked on Oeno's shores.
- April 1893: The Bowdon became another ship to be wrecked on Oeno.
- 10 July 1902: The United Kingdom officially took control of Oeno Island. This is called annexation.
- 1938: Oeno Island became part of the Pitcairn Islands colony.
- 1997: Polynesian rats, which were not native to the island, were removed to protect the local wildlife. This is part of island restoration efforts.
- 2 July 2019: Oeno Island had a special event when it experienced a total solar eclipse.
See also
In Spanish: Isla Oeno para niños
