Keppel Island
Keppel Island
Isla Vigía | |
---|---|
UTC−3 (FKST ) | |
If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively. |
Keppel Island (Spanish: Isla Vigía) is one of the Falkland Islands, lying between Saunders and Pebble islands, and near Golding Island to the north of West Falkland on Keppel Sound. It has an area of 3,626 hectares (8,960 acres) and its highest point, Mt. Keppel, is 341 metres (1,119 ft) high. There is a wide, flat valley in the centre of the island with several freshwater lakes. The central valley rises steeply to the south-west, west and north. The north-east is low-lying, with a deeply indented coastline.[1]
The large population of
History
Early British settlers named the island after Admiral Augustus Keppel, First Lord of the Admiralty in the 18th century.
An
In the late 20th century, the island was designated as a nature reserve. It has a small settlement on the east coast, but no permanent population.
Missionary station
The mission on Keppel Island was established in 1855 by the
From 1856, Anglican missionaries persuaded several Yaghan to move from Tierra del Fuego to Keppel Island, where they learnt farming techniques and some English. The Yahgan did not go to Keppel Island until a few years after the British built "Cranmer Station" near Committee Bay. (It was named for
After some setbacks, the mission succeeded in 1869 in founding another mission on
Today, the mission bailiff's house, the chapel, and the stone walls of some of the Yaghan dwellings remain intact on Keppel Island. Some stone walls have been used to provide foundations for present-day buildings. The ruins are listed buildings and represent amongst the oldest in the islands.[4]
Important bird area
Keppel Island has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Birds for which the site is of conservation significance include Falkland steamer ducks, ruddy-headed geese, gentoo penguins (1250 breeding pairs) southern rockhopper penguins (780 pairs), Magellanic penguins, black-browed albatrosses (1800 pairs) and white-bridled finches.[1]
See also
- Thomas Bridges
References
- ^ a b c "Keppel Island". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-58567-956-0
- ^ "Cook Tried to Steal Parson's Life Work" (PDF). New York Times. 21 May 1910. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "Falkland Islands Information Web Portal". Buildings and Structures in the Falkland Islands designated as being of Architectural or Historic Interest. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- Jeff Rubin, Antarctica (Lonely Planet guide).
- Stonehouse, B (ed.) Encyclopedia of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans (2002, ISBN 0-471-98665-8)
External links
- Keppel Island: the South American Missionary Society settlement in the Falkland Islands, Liverpool Museums
- Keppel Island from Space at the Wayback Machine (archived December 23, 2010)
- Struggling to save Keppel's history, Falkland Islands website