nightingale island

Nightingale Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean located just south of Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island. Its area is less than one square mile. It has no permanent human inhabitants, but it is of interest to those who conduct wildlife conservation work. It is managed by the United Kingdom.

Geology

Nightingale has two peaks on its north end. One is 1100 ft high; the other is 960 ft high. The rest of the island is ringed by cliffs. However, these cliffs are not nearly as high as those surrounding Nightingale's neighbor Inaccessible Island, which is approximately 10 miles away and has cliffs approximately 1000 feet high. Thus human expeditions are much easier on Nightingale than on Inaccessible. Caves in Nightingale Island seem to indicate elevation. Nightingale also has two smaller islets called Stoltenkoff (325 ft) and Middle (150 ft). Large amounts of kelp surround the island, which makes it harder to anchor ships in bad weather.

History

Nightingale was discovered along with Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island in 1506 by Tristo da Cunha. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch and French governments as well as Britain's East India Company considered taking possession of Nightingale (as well as Tristan and Inaccessible), but declined due to lack of landing space. In 1656, the Nachtglas, which also made a landing at Inaccessible, landed at Nightingale. Nightingale was originally named Gebroken Eyland (the Broken Island), but it was later renamed after Gabriel Nightingale, who explored the island in 1760. In 1767, the islets Stoltenhof and Middle were discovered by the French captain D' Escheverry. Nightingale has been said to contain pirate loot. Captain John Thomas, on an expedition to the South Atlantic, left a fortune of Spanish doubloons and pieces-of-eight in caves on Nightingale for safekeeping. However, no recovery of this treasure (if it is there) has ever been confirmed. In 1811, the American pirate Jonathan Lambert laid claim to Tristan and its neighboring islands. He wanted to call Inaccessible Pinsard Island and Nightingale Lavel Island. He was successful in his claim, but he died the same year. In 1961 an earthquake on Tristan da Cunha forced the inhabitants of Tristan da Cunha to come to Nightingale. In 1963, they voted nearly unanimously to return to Tristan. Wildlife conservation efforts are ongoing on Nightingale. The previous conservation workers' sheds were severely damaged in a hurricane in 2001. Repair is ongoing, but to continue carrying out the conservation work, all of the damaged shacks on the island need to be repaired. The United Kingdom established funding for a conservation effort on Nightingale for 2004-2006. http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1343.html

Wildlife

Nightingale Island is known as a breeding ground for various types of seabirds; over a million birds are estimated to be on the island. There are four wetland areas on the island which each contain hundreds of yellow-nosed albatrosses. Similarly to Inaccessible Island, Nightingale is also a habitat for rockhopper penguins.

Tourism

Inaccessible and Gough Islands are nature reserves, so tourism is not permitted there. However, tourists are permitted to go to Nightingale. Many tourists to Tristan da Cunha visit Nightingale Island to see the wildlife. Non-Tristanians can only travel there with a guide from Tristan; part of the money they pay the guide goes toward paying for the conservation work being done on the island. Once a year, filmmakers and journalists are permitted to work on the island (for a fee), but they are not allowed to interfere with the private lives of the islanders. Also, Tristan natives visit Nightingale on holiday.