Pinta Island (Spanish:Isla Pinta) is one of theGalápagos Islands inEcuador, west ofSouth America. Pinta has an area of 60 km2 (23 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 777 meters (2,549 ft).
  Pinta Island Map of theGalápagos Islands, with Pinta Island in the northwest. | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Galápagos Islands,Ecuador |
| Coordinates | 0°35′14″N90°45′44″W / 0.587252°N 90.762184°W /0.587252; -90.762184 |
| Archipelago | Galápagos Islands |
| Administration | |
| Province | Galápagos Province |
| Canton | Santa Cruz |
Names
editTheSpanish name Pinta—an adjective meaning "spotted"—honors thePinta, the nickname of one of the three ships ofChristopher Columbus'sfirst voyage.Santa Maria Island is similarly named for another one of his vessels andPinzón Island is partially named for thePinta'scaptainMartín Alonso Pinzón.
The island was charted by theEnglish pirateWilliam Ambrosia Cowley asEarl of Abingdon's Island[1] in 1684 in honor ofJames Bertie, 1stEarl of Abingdon.[2] This was later simplified toAbingdon Island.[3]
Geography
edit
The elongated island of Pinta is the northernmost of the active Galápagos volcanoes. Pinta is ashield volcano with an extensive underwater footprint originating from NNW-trending fissures.[4] It has an area of 60 km2 (23 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 777 meters (2,549 ft).[5]
The rocks around the north of the island were previously known as Norris's Rocks, while an outcropping on the west side of the island was known as Rycaut's Rock.[3]
Wildlife
editPinta was the original home toLonesome George, perhaps the most famoustortoise in theGalápagos Islands. He was the last known representative of the subspeciesChelonoidis nigra abingdonii. The most northern major island in the Galápagos, at one time Isla Pinta had a thriving tortoise population. The island's vegetation was devastated over several decades byintroducedferal goats, thus diminishing food supplies for the native tortoises. A prolonged effort to exterminate goats introduced to Pinta was completed in 1990, and the vegetation of the island is starting to return to its former state.
Pinta Island is also home toswallow-tailed gulls,marine iguanas,Galapagos hawks,Galapagos fur seals and a number of other birds and mammals.[citation needed]
On January 28, 2008,Galápagos National Park official Victor Carrion announced that 53sea lions (13pups, 25 youngsters, 9 males and 6 females) at Pinta had been found killed with their heads caved in. In 2001,poachers killed 35 male sea lions.[6]
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^McEwen (1988), p. 235.
- ^McEwen (1988), p. 237.
- ^abKitchin, Thomas (1797), "South America",Kitchin's General Atlas..., London: Laurie & Whittle.
- ^Schlitzer, W.; Harpp, K.S.; Mittelstaedt, E.L.; Kurz, M.D.; Geist, D. (2011).The Effect of Lithospheric Discontinuities on the Composition of Lavas From the Northern Galápagos Platform Extension. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011.Bibcode:2011agufmdi13a2141s.
- ^Rocchio, Laura; Allen, J.; Simmon, R.; Taylor, M. (July 21, 2012)."Pinta Island".Earth Observatory: Images. EOS Project Science Office, NASA Godard Space Flight Center. RetrievedJune 17, 2013.
- ^"Sea lions massacred in Galápagos".BBC News. January 29, 2008. RetrievedJune 17, 2013.
Bibliography
edit- "Pinta".Global Volcanism Program.Smithsonian Institution.
- McEwen, Alec (July 1988),"The English Place-Names of the Galápagos",The Geographical Journal, vol. 154, London: Royal Geographical Society, pp. 234–242,doi:10.2307/633849,JSTOR 633849.