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Islands of Chile

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Islands of Chile

Chile has one of the world's longest and most dangerous coastlines; it is more than 4000 km (2500 mi) long and has at least 5000 rocky islands.

Contents

Classifications vary for "isla" (island), "islote" (islet), "roquerío" (rocks), "farallón" (cliff) and "archipiélago" or "grupo" (archipelago). The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy has begun to consider island a superface greater than 100,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft).

Island territory

They have counted 5,919 "units" between the 18°15'S and 56°32'S latitude, with a total area of 105,561 square kilometres (26,085,000 acres), that is 14% of the Chilean Territory (not included the Antarctica claims). The biggest eight islands (Tierra del Fuego, Chiloé, Wellington, Riesco, Hoste, Santa Inés, Navarino and Magdalena), every one bigger than 2,000 km2, represent 56% of the island territory of Chile. The 381 biggest islands, every one bigger than 10 km2, represent 97% of the island territory of Chile.

Geographic classification

The Chilean "Instituto Geográfico Militar de Chile" classifies the Chilean Islands accordig their position to the continental coasts of Chile:

  • 1. Sector: Between 18° 15′S and 41° 45′S, it includes 134 islands and islets, totalling 148 km2. The most known is Mocha Island.
  • 2. Sector: Islands far from the continent, only 16 islands and islets, totalling 328 km2: San Félix y San Ambrosio, Salas y Gómez; Isla de Pascua; Archipiélago Juan Fernández, (Robinsón Crusoe, Santa Clara, and Alejandro Selkirk).
  • 3. Sector: Between 41° 45′S and 43° 45′S It includes 169 islands and islets totalling 9,344 km2 most of them in the Isla Grande de Chiloé.
  • 4. Sector: Between 43° 44′S and 47°S, totalling 1,047 and 12,344 km2 mainly in the Chonos Archipielago.
  • 5. Sector: Between 47°S and 56° 32′S including 4,553 islands and islaets and 82,945 km2: Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Navarino and Guayaneco Archipielago.

    • River and lake islands

  • Isla del Rey
  • Isla Teja
  • Malvinas

    • Phantom islands

    Elizabeth Island, Bodesta, Pactolus Bank and some reefs have been mentioned in the past as lying near Chilean territories but they are phantom islands. Gable Island is listed by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Country Files (GNS) as a Chilean Island, but it is actually part of Argentina.

    Literature islands

    Several reports, novels and tales have the islands of Chile as geographic background:

  • The Narrative of the Honourable John Byron by John Byron
  • The Survivors of the "Jonathan" by Jules Verne
  • El último grumete de la Baquedano by Francisco Coloane
  • The Golden Ocean by Patrick O'Brian
  • The Unknown Shore by Patrick O'Brian
  • Robinson Crusoe of Daniel Defoe
  • Two Years' Vacation by Jules Verne
  • The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
  • Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
  • The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, on Desolacion Island
  • Hawaii by James Michener, on Desolacion Island
  • The German poet Adelbert von Chamisso wrote a poem about Sala y Gomez Island based on his reflections upon visiting the island in 1816.
  • Ishmael, in Herman Melville's classic novel, Moby Dick, recalls a marble tablet at a whalemen's chapel in New Bedford which pays homage to a whaleman named John Talbot who lost his life whaling "near the Isle of Desolation, off Patagonia". This recollection occurs in Chapter 7, "The Chapel".

    • References

    Islands of Chile Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA