Pebble Island

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Pebble Island
Pebble Island - Falkland Islands.jpg
Falkland Islands - Pebble Island.svg
Location of Pebble Island
Coordinates: 51°18′11″S59°37′46″W / 51.30306°S 59.62944°W / -51.30306; -59.62944
Country Falkland Islands
Main settlementPebble Island Settlement
Area
  Total103.36 km2 (39.91 sq mi)
Highest elevation
277 m (909 ft)
Population
 (circa 1982)
  Total25 [1]
Time zone UTC−3 (FKST)
If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively.

Pebble Island is one of the Falkland Islands, situated north of West Falkland. It is possibly named after the peculiarly spherical pebbles found at its western tip.

Contents

Description

The island, the fifth largest in the Falklands archipelago, stretches for 35 kilometres (22 mi) and about 6 kilometres (4 mi) at its widest point, [2] with a total area of 103.36 km2 (39.91 sq mi). Its three high points are First Mountain 277 m (909 ft), Middle Mountain 214 m (702 ft) and Marble Mountain 237 m (778 ft), all of which lie in the western part of the island. The eastern part of the island has lakes and wetlands and is of high conservation value. [3] The two halves are joined by an isthmus on which lies Pebble Island Settlement where the inhabitants live. The island has been a sheep farm since 1846; 6,000 Corriedale sheep are farmed, along with 125 head of beef and dairy cattle. [4]

Settlement

Pebble Island Settlement (Spanish/Argentine name: Puerto Calderón [5] )( 51°18′32″S59°36′37″W / 51.30889°S 59.61028°W / -51.30889; -59.61028 ) is the headquarters of the Pebble Island farm, and is located on the island's isthmus. There is a shop (open three days a week), a one classroom school, an airstrip, a hotel and a golf course. [6] [ needs update ]

History

The settlement's Spanish name "Puerto Calderón" (meaning "port of the cauldron [or vat]") reflects the area's early history in sealing, and hunting penguins for oil.

The farm was established in 1846 by John Markham Dean (elsewhere, John Henry Dean), an Englishman who bought Pebble and three neighbouring islands for £400. [4] Dean's family concern passed on to Dean Brothers Ltd, but it is currently managed locally by Raymond Evans, the great nephew of Johnny Evans who introduced sheep to the island and slaughtered the first feral cattle. [6]

During the Falklands War, the island was occupied by Argentine forces which created the Estación Aeronaval Calderón (naval air station Calderon), protected by elements of 2nd Naval Infantry Battalion, which was assaulted successfully by the British Special Air Service in the "Raid on Pebble Island". [4] Thirty to one-hundred and fifty Argentine soldiers were based here to protect the airfield. [7]

HMS Coventry was sunk off the coast of Pebble Island. According to the inquiry into its loss, the ship sank 10 miles (16 km) north of Pebble Island in May 1982. [8] The co-ordinates of the sinking are 51 03.6S, 59 42.2W [9] and this is about 11.5 nautical miles (21.3 km; 13.2 mi) from the nearest point on Pebble Island. There are memorials on the island to the British destroyer HMS Coventry and to an Argentinian Lear Jet, both destroyed during the conflict. [10]

More recently, Pebble Island Settlement became one of the first in the Falkland Islands to use wind turbines to generate most of its electricity. [6] [11]

In October 2018, it was announced that Pebble Island was up for sale by Claire Harris, descendant of John Markham Dean. [2] The new buyer would need to obtain a licence from the Falklands Government to ensure that the island is kept in line with the rest of the islands. [12]

Important bird area

Pebble Island can be divided into a marshy east, known for its waterfowl and wading birds as well as a hilly west, known for its penguins. [6] The Pebble Island group, including the much smaller White Island and some islets, 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 (100 breeding pairs), ruddy-headed geese (175 pairs), gentoo penguins (1700 pairs), southern rockhopper penguins (6800 pairs), macaroni penguins (10 pairs), southern giant petrels (20 pairs), sooty shearwaters (100 pairs), striated caracaras, white-bridled finches, blackish cinclodes and Cobb's wrens. black-necked and Coscoroba swans breed on the main island. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of the Falkland Islands</span> Geography of the Falkland Islands

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.

HMS <i>Coventry</i> (D118) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Coventry was a Type 42 (Sheffield-class) destroyer of the Royal Navy. Laid down by Cammell Laird and Company, Limited, at Birkenhead on 29 January 1973, she was launched on 21 June 1974 and accepted into service on 20 October 1978 at a cost of £37,900,000.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedwell Island</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleaker Island</span> Island in Falkland Islands

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carcass Island</span> Island in Falkland Islands

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saunders Island, Falkland Islands</span> Island in Falkland Islands

Saunders Island is the fourth largest of the Falkland Islands, lying north west of West Falkland. The island is run as a sheep farm.

Keppel Island 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Lion Island</span> Island in Falkland Islands

Sea Lion Island is the largest of the Sea Lion Island Group of the Falkland Islands. It is 9 km2 (3 sq mi) in area. and lies 14 km (9 mi) southeast of Lafonia. It was designated a Ramsar site on 24 September 2001, and as an Important Bird Area. In 2017 the island was designated as a National Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Point Island</span> Island in Falkland Islands

West Point Island is one of the Falkland Islands, lying in the north-west corner of the archipelago. It has an area of 1,469 hectares (5.67 sq mi) and boasts some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the Falklands. The island is owned by Roddy & Lily Napier and run as a sheep farm and tourist attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lafonia</span>

Lafonia is a peninsula forming the southern part of East Falkland, the largest of the Falkland Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goose Green</span> Place in Falkland Islands, United Kingdom

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Pebble Island</span> Military raid during the Falklands War

The Raid on Pebble Island was a raid by British Special Forces on Pebble Island's airfield during the Falklands War, and took place on the night of 14–15 May 1982. Pebble Island is one of the smaller Falkland Islands, lying north of West Falkland. The site was being used as a forward operating base for T-34 Mentor and Pucara aircraft by the Argentine Air Force; British Special Air Service (SAS) operatives were tasked with destroying the aircraft on the ground, in an operation that echoed back to some of the unit's first missions during the North African Campaign of World War II. SAS elements, then embarked on HMS Hermes, were tasked with eliminating the airfield, with naval support from the Type 22 frigate HMS Broadsword as Hermes defensive escort and the County-class destroyer HMS Glamorgan to provide naval gunfire support with its Mark 6 4.5 inch guns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkland Islands</span> Group of islands in the South Atlantic

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volunteer Point</span>

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Golding Island is one of the Falkland Islands, just to the north of West Falkland in Keppel Sound and near Keppel and Pebble Islands. It has a complex shape, with narrow headlands and bays, and a pond in the middle.

Hummock Island is the largest of a group of islands in King George Bay in the Falkland Islands. It has a land area of 3.03 square kilometres (1.17 sq mi) and is about 4.0 miles (6.4 km) long in a north-west to south-east direction. Hummock Island is off the western coast of West Falkland, in a bay that leads to the estuary of the Chartres River. The highest point on the island is in the north-east and is 190 metres (620 ft). There are cliffs which often reach over 60 metres (200 ft) high.

References

  1. "The Raid on Pebble Island".
  2. 1 2 Witherow, John, ed. (17 October 2018). "Name your price for a Falkland isle". The Times. No. 72668. p. 21. ISSN   0140-0460.
  3. 1 2 "Pebble Island Group". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "For sale: Falklands penguin island". BBC News. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 Wigglesworth, Angela. (1992) Falkland People. Pub. Peter Owen. ISBN   0-7206-0850-3.
  7. Wagstaff, William (2001). Falkland Islands : the Bradt travel guide. Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides. p. 133. ISBN   1-84162-037-8.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) page 1
  9. "Royal Navy".
  10. "Weather-beaten Falklands memorials restored in time for season of remembrance". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  11. Bergey Windpower site for Pebble Island
  12. Clements, Laura (11 December 2018). "A Welshman and his family are selling an island filled with thousands of penguins". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 December 2018.