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ThePitcairn Islands are a group of four islands in the southPacific Ocean: the group comprisesPitcairn Island (avolcanic island),Henderson Island (anupliftedcoral island), and twocoralatolls,Oeno Island andDucie Island.
The only inhabited island, Pitcairn, has an area of 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) and a population density of 10/km2 (26/sq mi); it is only accessible by boat throughBounty Bay.The other islands are at a distance of more than 100 km (62 mi).
ThePitcairn Islands as a group of islands inOceania:(25°04′00″S130°05′00″W / 25.06667°S 130.08333°W /-25.06667; -130.08333)
Situated in the SouthPacific Ocean, about one-half of the way fromPeru toNew Zealand, they are one of the most remote sites of human habitation on Earth.[1][2]
The only inhabited island, Pitcairn, is at 25.04 south, 130.06 west. Pitcairn is about 2,170 kilometres (1,350 mi) southeast ofTahiti, 5,310 kilometres (3,300 mi) fromAuckland,New Zealand, and over 6,600 kilometres (4,100 mi) fromPanama.[3]
Pitcairn Island is about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) long and 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) wide.[3]This is about3⁄10 of the size ofWashington, DC.
0 km (0 mi)
51 km (32 mi)
Exclusive economic zone:836,000 km2 (323,000 sq mi)
Territorial sea:3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi)
The Pitcairn Islands have a maritimetropical rainforest climate (Af according to theKöppen climate classification), with the climate being warm and humid year-round, with no dry season. The warmest month in Adamstown is February, with a mean of 23.8 °C (74.8 °F), while the coolest month is August, with a mean of 18.5 °C (65.3 °F). The highest temperature recorded was 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) during March. Because of its maritime location, the temperature has never dropped below 10 °C (50 °F). Adamstown receives 1,543 millimetres (60.7 in) of rainfall annually, with the rain being evenly distributed across the year. The climate of the Pitcairn Islands is modified by southeast trade winds.
| Climate data for Pitcairn Island (1972-2004) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.2 (88.2) | 32.4 (90.3) | 33.3 (91.9) | 30.7 (87.3) | 29.1 (84.4) | 31.3 (88.3) | 26.7 (80.1) | 26.7 (80.1) | 25.5 (77.9) | 27.8 (82.0) | 27.6 (81.7) | 29.3 (84.7) | 33.3 (91.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.7 (78.3) | 26.2 (79.2) | 26.1 (79.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 22.9 (73.2) | 21.7 (71.1) | 20.8 (69.4) | 20.6 (69.1) | 21.0 (69.8) | 21.8 (71.2) | 22.9 (73.2) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.2 (73.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.8 (74.8) | 23.8 (74.8) | 22.5 (72.5) | 20.9 (69.6) | 19.7 (67.5) | 18.8 (65.8) | 18.5 (65.3) | 18.8 (65.8) | 19.6 (67.3) | 20.7 (69.3) | 22.0 (71.6) | 21.0 (69.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21.0 (69.8) | 21.4 (70.5) | 21.5 (70.7) | 20.3 (68.5) | 18.9 (66.0) | 17.8 (64.0) | 16.9 (62.4) | 16.5 (61.7) | 16.6 (61.9) | 17.4 (63.3) | 18.6 (65.5) | 19.8 (67.6) | 18.9 (66.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) | 18.0 (64.4) | 12.8 (55.0) | 15.0 (59.0) | 14.2 (57.6) | 11.7 (53.1) | 11.4 (52.5) | 11.6 (52.9) | 10.0 (50.0) | 10.2 (50.4) | 13.0 (55.4) | 13.5 (56.3) | 10.0 (50.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 96.5 (3.80) | 132.7 (5.22) | 107.8 (4.24) | 114.8 (4.52) | 111.9 (4.41) | 152.8 (6.02) | 139.0 (5.47) | 131.6 (5.18) | 134.5 (5.30) | 143.0 (5.63) | 120.4 (4.74) | 157.7 (6.21) | 1,542.7 (60.74) |
| Source 1: NOAA[4] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: KNMI (precipitation)[5] | |||||||||||||
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The Pitcairn Islands have a rugged terrain caused by volcanic formation, with a rocky coastline and cliffs.
Lowest point:Pacific Ocean coastline 0 m (sea level)
Highest point:Pawala Valley Ridge 347 m (1,138 ft)
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Miro trees (used for handicrafts), fish
Note:manganese,iron,copper,gold,silver, andzinc have been discovered offshore
Tropical Cyclones (especially November to May)
Deforestation (only a small portion of the original forest remains because of burning and clearing for settlement)
Worldwide map services show very little detail of the islands, and are even of limited use to show the location of them with respect to each other and to other islands, because they are so small and far apart. However, Mapquest zoom level 1 is a suitable map to see the location between Peru and New Zealand.
For the location with respect toFrench Polynesia, see the inset ofImage:French Polynesia map.jpg.
