Prince Edward Islands

The Prince Edward Islands (English Prince Edward Islands, the German Foreign Office as Prince Edward and Mario Islands called ) are an uninhabited group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean on the Atlantic- Indian Ridge, about halfway between South Africa and the Antarctica, about 1770 km south-east of Port Elizabeth. The islands belong to South Africa's Western Cape province.

Geography

The group consists of two approximately 19 km distant islands, the eponymous Prince Edward Island (45 km ² ) and Marion Island (290 km ²). Both islands are of volcanic origin; the volcanoes are still active, the last eruption was held in 1980. The highest elevation of the island is 1230 meters high State President Swart Peak on Marion Island. Because of the southern location, a small part of the island is glaciated.

Climate

The Prince Edward Islands are located in the middle of the Roaring Forties, which are responsible for a permanent, often strong westerly wind with much rain and little sunshine. Thus, the number of rainy days per year at 317 ( about 26 per month), with an average rainfall 2400-3000 mm. Because of its location near the Antarctic convergence, average water and air temperatures throughout the year only a few degrees above zero (7.5 ° C in summer, 3.6 ° C in winter). The Antarctic sea ice does not reach in winter the island group, although, yet are icebergs in the waters surrounding the island group are not uncommon.

History

For the first time, the islands were sighted by the Dutch navigator Barend Barendszoon Lam on March 4, 1663; However, since this indicated the wrong coordinates, they could not be found again. It was not until over a century later, on 13 January 1772 they were rediscovered by Frenchman Marc -Joseph Marion du Fresne, according to him today is the larger of the two islands named. He spent five days trying to land there. He supposed to have found previously only suspected Antarctica. 1776 met his expedition, which was after the death of du Fresne now headed by his deputy, Jules Crozet, James Cook in Cape Town. Cook then took courses on the islands, they sighted on 12 December 1776 but did not because of poor weather conditions do not end well. He gave them the current name Prince Edward Islands.

The first recorded landing took place in 1803 by a group of seal hunters, but the traces of former inhabitants, probably also sealers found.

James Clark Ross visited the islands in 1840, but could not land too. The islands were finally surveyed in 1873 by a Captain Nares.

The British government gave in 1908 a William Newton rights, reduce guano resources over the next 21 years, and in 1926 a 10-year concession for the seal hunt on a seal-hunting society.

On 17 December 1947 the area was annexed by South Africa and since 1994 has been the province of Western Cape (Western Cape). In February 1948 a permanent station was established on the north east coast of Marion Island, which holds in particular a significant position in the sub-Antarctic meteorological research, but also astronomical and atmospheric research serves. Today, scientific research is very much restricted by local people after the people had created from the 1950s to the 1970s, major damage to the bird population entrained rats and cats.

In the vicinity of the Prince Edward Islands was held on September 22, 1979 instead of one as the " Vela Incident " designated explosion in which it may have been a joint nuclear test in South Africa and Israel.

Nature reserve

The island serves as a breeding ground for the Subantarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals as well as a breeding area for about 30,000 albatrosses, petrels and several hundred thousand more than a million penguins, especially king penguins. As an endangered species, the sooty shearwater and the Rußalbatros be considered. There are also numerous endemic species of plants and invertebrates. In 1995 the islands were declared a nature reserve.

1949 five domestic cats were brought to the Marion Island, to combat a plague of mice in the station. However, the cats increased rapidly, and in 1977 there were about 3400 cats on the island, instead of the mice of Petrels subsisted so that the extermination of the birds on the island threatened. Some species of petrels died on Marion Island in fact made ​​already, and so was a "cat eradication program " was launched: Some cats were infected with a highly specific, feline panleucopenia particular condition, what the number of cats in 1982 to around 600 reduced. The remaining cats were killed by nocturnal hunting, and in 1991 were only eight cats are trapped within twelve months. It is assumed that there are now no more cats Marion Island.

On 9 April 2013, the South African government declared by the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, the island group, with its 12 -mile zone for marine protection zone (marine protected area). A protected status under national law of South Africa had already been announced in the Government Gazette No. 32198. But then you put the underlying section 43 of the Marine Living Resources Act (Act No. 18/1998 ).