Geography of the Pitcairn Islands

Map of Pitcairn Islands.

The Pitcairn Islands consist of four islands: Pitcairn Island (a volcanic high island), Henderson Island (an uplifted coral island), and two coral atolls, Oeno Island and Ducie Island.

The only inhabited island, Pitcairn, has an area of 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) and a population density of 10/km2 (26/sq mi); it is only accessible by boat through Bounty Bay. The other islands are at a distance of more than 100 km (62 mi).

Location

Pitcairn postage stamp, c.1940, with helpful map.

The Pitcairn Islands as a group of islands in Oceania:(25°04′00″S 130°05′00″W / 25.06667°S 130.08333°W / -25.06667; -130.08333Coordinates: 25°04′00″S 130°05′00″W / 25.06667°S 130.08333°W / -25.06667; -130.08333)

Situated in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Peru to New Zealand, they are one of the most remote sites of human habitation on Earth.

The only inhabited island, Pitcairn, is at 25.04 south, 130.06 west. Pitcairn is about 2,170 kilometres (1,350 mi) southeast of Tahiti, 5,310 kilometres (3,300 mi) from Auckland, New Zealand, and over 6,600 kilometres (4,100 mi) from Panama.

Area

Enlargeable, detailed map of Pitcairn Island
Total: 47 km2 (18 sq mi)
Land: 47 km2 (18 sq mi)
Water: 0 km2 (0 sq mi)

Pitcairn Island is about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) long and 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) wide. This is about 310 of the size of Washington, DC.

Land boundaries

0 km (0 mi)

Coastline

51 km (32 mi)

Maritime claims

Exclusive economic zone: 836,000 km2 (323,000 sq mi)
Territorial sea: 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi)

Climate

The Pitcairn Islands have a maritime tropical rainforest climate (Af according to the Köppen climate classification), with the climate being warm and humid year-round, with no dry season. The warmest month in Adamstown is February, with a mean of 25.5 °C (77.9 °F), while the coolest months are July and August, with a mean of 20.0 °C (68.0 °F). The highest temperature recorded was 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) during March.[year needed] Because of their maritime location, the temperature has never dropped below 14 °C (57 °F). Adamstown receives 1,655 millimetres (65.2 in) of rainfall annually over 150 rainy days, with the rain being evenly distributed across the year. The climate of the Pitcairn Islands is modified by southeast trade winds.[citation needed]

Climate data for Adamstown
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 31.7
(89.1)
32.4
(90.3)
33.3
(91.9)
30.7
(87.3)
29.1
(84.4)
31.3
(88.3)
26.7
(80.1)
26.7
(80.1)
25.7
(78.3)
27.2
(81.0)
27.6
(81.7)
29.3
(84.7)
33.3
(91.9)
Average high °C (°F) 28
(82)
28
(82)
28
(82)
26
(79)
25
(77)
23
(73)
22
(72)
22
(72)
23
(73)
24
(75)
26
(79)
27
(81)
27.4
(81.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 25.0
(77.0)
25.5
(77.9)
25.0
(77.0)
23.5
(74.3)
22.5
(72.5)
21.0
(69.8)
20.0
(68.0)
20.0
(68.0)
20.5
(68.9)
21.0
(69.8)
22.5
(72.5)
24.0
(75.2)
22.5
(72.6)
Average low °C (°F) 22
(72)
23
(73)
22
(72)
21
(70)
20
(68)
19
(66)
18
(64)
18
(64)
18
(64)
18
(64)
19
(66)
21
(70)
19.7
(67.5)
Record low °C (°F) 20
(68)
20
(68)
20
(68)
18
(64)
17
(63)
14
(57)
14
(57)
14
(57)
15
(59)
15
(59)
17
(63)
18
(64)
14
(57)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 120
(4.7)
140
(5.5)
120
(4.7)
155
(6.1)
130
(5.1)
155
(6.1)
150
(5.9)
125
(4.9)
140
(5.5)
135
(5.3)
120
(4.7)
165
(6.5)
1,655
(65.2)
Average rainy days 14 13 13 12 11 11 11 12 12 13 14 14 150
Source:

Terrain

Geodesy Collection on Pitcairn Island

The Pitcairn Islands have a rugged terrain caused by volcanic formation, with a rocky coastline and cliffs.

Elevation extremes

Lowest point: Pacific Ocean coastline 0 m (sea level)
Highest point: Pawala Valley Ridge 347 m (1,138 ft)

Natural resources

Miro trees (used for handicrafts), fish
Note: manganese, iron, copper, gold, silver, and zinc have been discovered offshore

Natural hazards

Tropical Cyclones (especially November to May)

Environment – current issues

Deforestation (only a small portion of the original forest remains because of burning and clearing for settlement)

Maps

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 
Download coordinates as: KML

Worldwide map services show very little detail of the islands, and are even of limited use to show the location of them with respect to each other and to other islands, because they are so small and far apart. However, Mapquest zoom level 1 is a suitable map to see the location between Peru and New Zealand.

For the location with respect to French Polynesia, see the inset of Image:French Polynesia map.jpg.

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-06-17 03:32 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari