Necker Island (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands)
Necker Iceland (Hawaiian: Mokumanamana ) is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, which geographically to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and politically part of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is located within the 2006 proclaimed Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, currently the largest marine conservation area in the world.
Geography
Necker Iceland is located only 13 kilometers north of the Tropic of Cancer and is about 300 km northwest of the neighboring island of Nihoa and located 690 km northwest of Honolulu on Oahu. The crescent-shaped island is about 1200 m long, up to 200 m wide and has an area of only 0.183 km ². There are five hills, of which the Summit Hill with 84 m reaches the maximum height. On the mostly dry, rocky surface only five different types short flora occur.
Necker 's like all the islands of the Hawaiian chain of islands of volcanic origin.
History
The first European who discovered the island, was on 4 November 1786, the French explorer Jean -François de La Pérouse. He christened Ile Necker, after his contemporary French finance minister Jacques Necker, however, the island could not enter for bad lake. In 1857, the island was taken possession of IV formally for the Hawaiian King Kamehameha, but the island was annexed final only on May 27, 1894 by hoisting the Hawaiian flag.
The most important scientific expedition to Iceland Necker was in 1923-24 under the name Tanager Expedition instead.
How to Nihoa were also found on Necker Iceland artifacts of early human occupation. Thus, there are 33 stone shrines, where a religious meaning is ascribed. In addition, more than eleven petroglyphs, found so-called kii Pohaku. Due to the obvious use of the island for ceremonial and religious purposes was as Necker Iceland Archeological District, recorded in 1988 in the National Register of Historic Places, the register of historically significant places in the United States.
Necker Iceland may be entered only with special permission from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services for scientific purposes today.
Stone artifacts
Wildlife ( fauna)
The island is home to nesting seabirds, such as the Blaunoddis ( Procelsterna cerulea ), as well as many marine animals such as the gray reef shark ( Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos ) or the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi ). In the Shark Bay different species are sea cucumbers and sea urchins.