Christmas Island is a small island in the Indian Ocean that is officially part of Australia. Its territory is only 135 km 2 , and the number of inhabitants is about two thousand. Despite this, the island is of great interest. At least because he, in fact, is the flat top of a giant underwater volcano. A lot can be said about him, but now only the most interesting facts will be noted with attention.
Geographic features
Officially, Christmas Island is located in Australia. However, if you look at the map, then it is very far from it. Located in the south-west of the continent, the metropolis of Perth, which is the fourth largest in the entire state, is located at a distance of 2360 kilometers from the island. While the city of Jakarta in Indonesia is separated from it by only 500 kilometers.
However, it is worth returning to geographical features. The highest point of Christmas Island, the photo of which is presented above, is 361 meters above sea level.
The territory itself has a tropical climate, and the average temperature is approximately 27 ° C. By the way, there is a lot of precipitation - there are 2000 mm in a year. But this is not bad, as rivers replenish due to rains. There are several of them on the island, and it is they who provide the population with drinking water.
History
Christmas Island was discovered in 1643 by the captain of the English ship “Royal Mary” named William Minors. He and his team on the instructions of the British East India Company were engaged in the study of the eastern Indian Ocean.
It happened on Christmas Day. So there was no need to think about the name for a long time.
Exploring the island was very difficult. The barrier was an impenetrable strip of reefs. Incidentally, it is located 200 meters from the coast. There are no coastal shallows, and the bottom goes sharply to a depth of approximately 5 kilometers.
So, for a long time no one could get to the island. It was only in 1887 that a British captain named John Macleer, who controlled the Fling Fish ship, managed to find a convenient bay that opened up access for researchers to this piece of land.
A year later, an expedition from Britain arrived on the island. Scientists have collected a collection of local minerals, and even found the purest phosphate.
In 1888, England declared Christmas Island its property.
Further developments
When Britain annexed this piece of land, the colonization of the island began. Very successful, I must admit. Already in 1900, this island became part of an English colony called Singapore.
Then there was the Second World War. In the course of its operations, Christmas Island was occupied by Japan. And in 1958 he was completely transferred to Australia. And to this day, the island is managed by an official representative of the government of this state.
Population and environment
The whole Christmas Island is one big, humid tropical forest. Interestingly, most of the territory (63%, to be more precise) is occupied by its eponymous national park. Unfortunately, forests have been significantly affected by the development of phosphates, but they are gradually being restored.
The island is inhabited mainly by descendants of Malay and Chinese workers. There has never been an indigenous population, and the present is constantly declining. Reserves of phosphorites are depleted, people lose their jobs, as a result of which they move to mainland Australia.
But the atmosphere on the island is friendly. Muslim Uraza Bayram, Chinese New Year and Christmas are celebrated here.
By the way, let the reserves of phosphates be depleted, but here tourism began to flourish. In many ways, the island gained its popularity due to the fact that it is located on the main route for cruise ships.
sights
Talking about where Christmas Island is, and what its features are, one can not fail to note several interesting phenomena. Perhaps the most impressive is the red crab migration.
Each year, more than 100 million individuals flee from the monsoon forest to the coast. It is worth recalling that the area of the island is only 135 km 2 ! Crabs are everywhere during this period. They fill the houses of local residents, streets, roads. And after some time already their offspring migrates back.
Another interesting fact is that 25 species of birds nest on the island (both sea and land). Some are considered rare, and are protected by the state.
Fish in coastal waters abound. Sharks and whales are also found.
And yes, there are sights on such a small island. This is a national park, waterfalls in the central regions, coastal caves, bunkers from the times of World War II, mountain plateaus, as well as an unfinished spaceport. By the way, there are still some beautiful beaches.
Kiribati
There is another Christmas island in the Pacific Ocean. His second name is Kiritimati (pictured above). It is the largest coral island in the world, covering an area of 321 km 2 . It is also interesting that it is on its territory that one of the highest concentrations of seabirds on the planet is observed. And on this atoll there are as many as five closed territories.
Where is Christmas Island located? Officially, it belongs to the Republic of Kiribati. This is a Pacific state, which is located in Polynesia and Micronesia (regions of Oceania). It’s easier to figure out if you focus on Tahiti - 2700 kilometers separate it from this archipelago.
The island is inhabited, now about 5-6 thousand people live on its territory.
Flora and fauna
As already mentioned, the Pacific Christmas Island is the largest atoll in the world. Its reef goes to a depth of 120 meters! And relies, by the way, on volcanic rocks.
It is also worth noting that this coral island just has a huge tidal lagoon, connecting in the northwest with the ocean. It is 16,000 ha. But several hundred more small lagoons are dispersed in the eastern part. Their total area is 16 800 ha. Interestingly, the salinity of the water in them is very different.
By the way, in these lagoons are hundreds of small islands. They are so small and short that most of them go under water at high tide.
Flora is represented by three groves of large pisonia and countless coconut palms.
By the way, since 1960 the territory has been declared a bird sanctuary. And several islands became closed, and access to them is possible only with written permission. This is because birds of endangered species nest on their territories and rare trees grow. But mammals are extremely rare here. Green turtle, small rat and several other species.
Island Features
The local vegetation on the Pacific Christmas Island was pushed back about 1/3. Also, a lot of silver messerschmidia was destroyed, and a considerable number of foreign plants were brought into the territory. But this, as a result, turned into positive consequences.
Take, for example, the same fragrant fluff that appeared here during the Second World War. It spread quite quickly along the atoll. And is the palm tree anchor? He was also brought to the island by a man. As a result, these plants formed thick thickets and "carpets", which are very convenient for nesting birds.
However, there are problems. Once on the island there were about 50 species of exotic plants. However, the US government in the 60s decided to conduct nuclear tests as part of the Dominic project here. There were 22 in total. As a result, some birds lost their ability to reproduce, and this affected their population. And part of the plants was irretrievably destroyed.
Even in the century before last, cats appeared on the island. They became a threat to the birds. Therefore, they began to nest on the notorious islets in the lagoons, where cats can not get. The capture of these animals did not bring any result. Therefore, the government decided to set traps in the villages and ban the possession of cats in the house only if they are not neutered. By the way, pigs are an even greater threat to birds. They exterminate the tern.
But the greatest danger, of course, is people. In recent years, cases of the extraction of seabirds by poachers have become much more frequent. So people are the main environmental problem.