Murray Hill, Christmas Island

Coordinates: 10°29′0″S 105°34′51″E / 10.48333°S 105.58083°E / -10.48333; 105.58083
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Murray Hill
Christmas Island
Murray Hill is in the western part
Highest point
Elevation357 m (1,171 ft)[1]
Prominence357 m (1,171 ft)
Coordinates10°29′0″S 105°34′51″E / 10.48333°S 105.58083°E / -10.48333; 105.58083
Geography
Murray Hill is located in Indonesia
Murray Hill
Murray Hill
Location on a map of Indonesia
LocationChristmas Island Christmas Island

Murray Hill is the highest point of Christmas Island, at 357 metres (1,171 ft) above sea level.[2] It was first scaled in 1857 even though the island had been located in 1615.

The plateau around the summit is dense and evergreen, although the biodiversity of trees is limited compared to similar areas of continental rainforest. Murray Hill is an integral part of the Christmas Island National Park covering an area of 85 square kilometres (33 sq mi) of the island's southwest corner; the island's total area is approximately 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi).

History

Christmas Island was first discovered on in 1615 by Captain

British Colony of Singapore (after World War II), and finally as a sovereign part of Australia from 1 October 1958.[2][3]

Geography and geology

In the saddle-shaped Christmas Island, the Murray Hill rises to a height of 357 metres (1,171 ft).[4] It is situated in the western central part of the island. [5] It is 3.25 miles (5.23 km) to the southeast of Northwest Point where the Headridge Hill rises to a height of 335 metres (1,099 ft).[6] West White Beach occurs on the southwest side of the hill. At 3.5 miles (5.6 km) in width, the most narrow point of Christmas Island is a line drawn north–south through Murray Hill.[7]

The entire island including Murray Hill has been formed out of submarine mountain formations.

volcanics overlaid by phosphate-rich soils on the surface in some areas.[10]
Along with the highest elevations of Phosphate Hill and Flying Fish Cove, the rocks from Murray Hill summit are characterized as dolomitic limestones, containing between 34 and 41 percent carbonate of magnesia. Analyses of the rocks has shown that the fossils are mostly obliterated, though there are remains of
phosphatic fossilization of volcanic rock.[7]
Murray Hill has an outcrop of many rocks subject to weathering.[10] Recent 40Ar/39Ar geochronology study by Taneja et al. (2015) on the volcanic rocks from Christmas Island have shown that the experienced a renewed volcanism in the Eocene (43 - 37 Ma) and then a minor phase of volcanism in the Pliocene (4.2 Ma).[11]

Ecology

The plateau around the summit is dense and evergreen, although the biodiversity of trees is limited compared to similar areas of continental rainforest. One of the main fauna is the red land crab,

robber crab, and the little nipper Geograpsus grayi.[12]

Murray Hill is an integral part of a reserve area which covers the entire southwest corner of the island. Initially, it was declared as the Christmas Island National Park declared by Proclamation under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975, on 21 February 1980, covering an area of 85 km2 (out of total area of 135 km2 of the island). On 16 July 2000, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 came into effect and the park is now a Commonwealth Reserve under this Act.[13] As of 2010, the national park makes up 63 percent of Christmas Island.[14]

References

  1. ^ "SRTM 90m DEM v4" CGIAR Consortium for Spatial Information.
  2. ^ a b "Christmas Island". CIA Factbook. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Christmas Island". British Empire.co. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  4. ISBN 9781577856559
    .
  5. ^ "Notes On a Geomorphological Study Of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean" (PDF). Department of national development, Government of Australia. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Christmas Island (10°30'S, 105°40'E)". Global Security Organization. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b British Museum (Natural History). Dept. of Geology; Andrews, Charles William (1900). A monograph of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) (Public domain ed.). Printed by order of the Trustees. pp. 5, 289, 291, 292–. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  8. ^ Australia. Dept. of Administrative Services (1972). Territory of Christmas Island. Australian Government Publishing Service. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  9. ^ Great Britain. Hydrographic Dept (1906). The China Sea Directory. Hydrographic Office, Admiralty. p. 10. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  10. ^ a b Grimes, Ken G. "Karst Features of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean)" (PDF). Helicite Caves Organization. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  11. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2014.04.004
    .
  12. ^ Green, Peter; O'Dowd, Dennis J.; Lake, P.S. (1 December 2007). "Control of seedling recruitment by land crabs in rain forest on a remote oceanic island". Journal of Ecology. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
  13. ^ "PART 1 A Description of Christmas Island and the National Park" (PDF). Environment Department of Government of Australia. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  14. ISBN 9781597975414
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murray_Hill,_Christmas_Island&oldid=1180829314"