Penguin Islands
The Penguin Islands ( German Penguin Islands), Angra Pequena and Islands or Guano Islands are an island chain of more than 20 islets and eilanden, which extends over 355 km offshore along the Southern Atlantic Coast of Namibia. The küstenfernste 10.3 kilometers Hollamsbird island is also the northernmost. The islands lie along the coast of the Prohibited Diamond Area between Meob - Chamais ( in the Namib desert ) in the north and the sheet rock in the south. They were known for their rich deposits of guano as guano islands.
Geography
The islands together form an area of just 2.35 km ² and a few reach a height of more than 50 m above sea level. The largest and most northerly island has Hollamsbird due to their harsher climate on the lowest amounts of guano. The island chain consists of twelve islands.
As a thirteenth entry, the Little roast beef Islets mentioned in a South African document from 1935, marking the southernmost point of the Penguin Islands.
The four largest islands are Possession ( 90 ha), Seal (44) Penguin (36) and Halifax ( 10). These are also the largest marine islands of Namibia. Larger areas have only a few inland islands of Namibia, as Impalila at the confluence of the Zambezi and Cuando ( 2,500 hectares or 25 km ²). Shark Iceland ( about 40 acres ) in the Lüderitz is not counted to the Penguin Islands, probably because it was because of an artificial land bridge to the peninsula.
History
The first Europeans who explored the West African coast, Bartolomeu Diaz was. He set 1475-1478 at various locations on stone crosses, including those belonging to the Diaz tip of Lüderitz Bay not far away.
Several centuries later gave Benjamin Morrell, an American whaler and captain of the ship Antarctic detailed reports on animal richness of this coast, especially whales, lobster, haddock, sea birds and seals. The island Ichaboe he described as covered with a 25 feet ( 8 meters) deep guano layer. The islands serve as important breeding grounds for birds, seals and penguins (especially penguins ). Returned to the United States he asked unsuccessfully for financial support for his ambition to tackle guano.
As in 1844 with his book story of a journey to the southern and western coasts of Africa, the guano deposits in Europe were known, began a massive exploitation of these resources. It has been estimated that around 700000-800000 tons were mined within a few years only to Ichaboe. During this time a year ran up to 300 ships the islands. The guano layer were disrupted by workers removed and brought to the ships anchored off the islands in boats. Because of between workers and companies sometimes flaring up Disputes patrolled the British Navy stationed in Cape Town before the islands. 1861 Ichaboe was declared British territory in 1867 and eleven other islands of Great Britain annexed ( excluded were numerous smaller islets and cliffs along the coast). 1874, the sovereignty over the annexed territories were transferred to the Cape Colony, these islands ( and the enclave of Walvis Bay ) retained on the mainland even after the founding of the German protectorate of German South West Africa. 1921 came Walvis Bay and the islands completely to South Africa until they were returned on 28 February 1994, Namibia.
Current situation
The islands are under the control of the Namibian Ministry of Fisheries and Marine industry since 1994. Since the islands are important breeding grounds for the African penguin and other sea birds, the Ministry strives to bring the population of birds on a sustainable natural state and not to be authorized economic extraction of guano. For this reason, the islands are controlled by the Namibian Navy and the access to the islands is restricted. With binoculars you can but look at it from the Halifax tip the penguin colonies on the island of Halifax.