Orqueta | |
|---|---|
  Orqueta Orqueta within the Falkland Islands  Orqueta Orqueta (South America) | |
| Coordinates: 51°50′50″S59°11′46″W / 51.84726°S 59.19624°W | |
| British Overseas Territory |  Falkland Islands |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (FKST [a] ) |
Orqueta (Spanish : Horqueta), historically also spelled Orquita, is a place in the Falkland Islands located on the Orqueta Creek in the north-central part of Lafonia on East Falkland.
Orqueta House was built in 1852 or 1853 as one of the outlying houses of the Hope Place cattle ranch. [1] [2] The name Orqueta was derived from the Spanish 'Horqueta' (lit. 'fork') referring to its location in a fork of two streams. [1]
The house was built of stone and adjacent to Orqueta pond on the highest point in the area. Due to Lafonia's flat landscape, it was visible from two other Hope Place houses, Tranquilidad (nine kilometres away) and Dos Lomas. [1] A turf wall was built to create an enclosure to the east of the house, which bordered the pond. Within the enclosure was a corral and a garden. [1]
Like Hope Place, the house was later abandoned and is now in ruins. [3] The area is now Orqueta Park, a large (550 hectare) field ('camp' in Falkland Islands English) that forms part of Goose Green farm. [4]
The history of the Falkland Islands goes back at least five hundred years, with active exploration and colonisation only taking place in the 18th century. Nonetheless, the Falkland Islands have been a matter of controversy, as they have been claimed by the French, British, Spaniards and Argentines at various points.
The Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean between 51°S and 53°S on a projection of the Patagonian Shelf, part of the South American continental shelf. In ancient geological time this shelf was part of Gondwana, and around 400 million years ago split from what is now Africa and drifted westwards from it. Today the islands are subjected to the Roaring Forties, winds that shape both their geography and climate.
East Falkland is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of 6,605 km2 or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as Lafonia; it is joined by a narrow isthmus where the settlement of Goose Green is located, and it was the scene of the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War.
Speedwell Island is one of the Falkland Islands, lying in the Falkland Sound, southwest of Lafonia, East Falkland.
Bleaker Island is one of the Falkland Islands, lying off south east Lafonia. The name is a corruption of "Breaker Island" due to the waves that break on it. It was also known as "Long Island" at one point.
Lafonia is a peninsula forming the southern part of East Falkland, the largest of the Falkland Islands.
Barren Island is one of the Falkland Islands, lying south west of East Falkland and south east of George Island. It is separated from Lafonia by Eagle Passage. Its total area is 11.5 square kilometres (4.4 sq mi).
George Island is the second largest of the Speedwell Island Group in the Falkland Islands with a land area of 24 square kilometres (9.3 sq mi). It lies south of Speedwell Island and south west of East Falkland, and is separated from Lafonia by Eagle Passage. The island is generally flat, rising no more than 18 metres (59 ft) above sea level, and there are several ponds and there is severe soil erosion in the central section. However, the island is free of rats.
The Falkland Sound is a sea strait in the Falkland Islands. Running southwest-northeast, it separates West and East Falkland.
Darwin is a settlement in Lafonia on East Falkland, Falkland Islands, lying on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Goose Green. It was known occasionally as Port Darwin.
Goose Green is a hamlet in Lafonia on East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It lies on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, 2 miles (3.2 km) south-southwest of Darwin. With a population of about 40, it is the third-largest settlement of the Falkland Islands, after Stanley and Mount Pleasant.
The Falkland Islands Company Ltd is a diversified goods and services company owned by FIH Group. Known locally as FIC, it was founded in 1851 and was granted a royal charter to trade in 1852 by Queen Victoria. It was originally founded by Samuel Fisher Lafone to exploit wild cattle in East Falkland, but they gave way to sheep farming and then to a range of trading activities in the Falkland Islands ranging from retail shops and cafés to insurance and vehicle hire.
The geology of the Falkland Islands is described in several publications. The Falkland Islands are located on a projection of the Patagonian continental shelf. In ancient geological time this shelf was part of Gondwana, which around 400 million years ago broke from what is now Africa and drifted westwards relative to Africa. Studies of the seabed surrounding the islands indicated the possibility of oil. Intensive exploration began in 1996, although there had been some earlier seismic surveys in the region.
The Swan Islands are a small group of islands in the middle of Falkland Sound in the Falkland Islands, and comprising Swan Island and the smaller West Swan Island and North Swan Island.
Hope Place was a small settlement in Lafonia in East Falkland. It was set up in 1846, by Samuel Lafone, a British-born Montevideo merchant, on the south shores of Brenton Loch. It was mainly populated by Uruguayan gauchos brought in from continental South America. The area is now abandoned.
Bull Point is the most southerly part of East Falkland, and of the two main islands of the Falklands. It is at the far end of Lafonia, near Eagle Passage, and forms part of the west shore of the Bay of Harbours. A 1500 ha tract has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA).
Eagle Passage is a strait in the Falkland Islands, between Lafonia in the southwest of East Falkland, and the smaller islands of Speedwell, Barren and George Island. George Island and Speedwell Island form the stretch of land to the south of the passage while East Falkland forms the northern stretch. The passage is difficult to navigate as ships may founder on the reefs and kelp lying off the surrounding islands.
Orqueta Creek is a stream in the center of the East Falkland in the Falkland Islands, more precisely north of Lafonia and south of Goose Green, which flows eastward and flows into Bodie Creek. Throughout its stream, it crosses the area of Orqueta. The toponym of Horqueta in Falkland Islands English goes back to the gauchos Rioplantenses who inhabited the area towards mid of 19th century and refers to the Paspalum notatum.
Bodie Creek, also called Bodie Inlet, is the estuary of Orqueta Creek and other small streams into Choiseul Sound, located south of the settlement of Goose Green in Lafonia, in the centre of East Falkland, Falkland Islands.
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