Pinzón or Pinzon Island (Spanish: Isla Pinzón) is an island in Ecuador's Galápagos Archipelago. It has no permanent population, an area of 18 square kilometers (6.9 sq mi), and a maximum elevation of 458 meters (1,503 ft). Home to giant Galápagos tortoises of the subspecies Chelonoidis duncanensis and Galápagos sea lions, the island has no visitor facilities and a permit is required for legal visits.
Names
The Spanish name Pinzón honors the brothers Martín Alonso and Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, who served as the captains of the Pinta and Niña on Christopher Columbus's first voyage. Pinta Island is named after the ship itself.
The English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley charted the island as Dean's Island in honor of Samuel Pepys's protegé Anthony Deane. It was later written Deane Island before the British captain James Colnett renamed it Duncan Island in 1794 after Admiral Adam Duncan, later created 1st Viscount Duncan after his victory over the Dutch at Camperdown in 1797.
Geography
Pinzón is part of the Galápagos Islands.[1] It has an area of 18 square kilometers (6.9 sq mi), and a maximum elevation of 458 meters (1,503 ft).[citation needed]
Flora
Pinzón marks the geographical center of the Galápagos Islands, but neither of the two main Galápagos tree species are present. A unique species of daisy tree is found in the humid zone.
Wildlife
During January 2012, invasive rodents were removed from the island by The Galápagos National Park, assisted by Island Conservation to benefit the Pinzón giant tortoise.[2] An infestation of non-native rats began in the mid 18th century with the arrival of European sailors. The rats devastated the tortoise population by eating their eggs and young hatchlings that were too small to defend themselves. In December 2014, after 100 years the first new generation of tortoise hatchlings were spotted on Pinzón.[3][4][5][6]
References
Citations
- ^ "Pinzón". Galapagos Conservancy. galapagos.org. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ "Back from the Brink of Extinction". Retrieved 6 November 2018.
- ^ Aguilera, Washington Tapia; Málaga, Jeffreys; Gibbs, James P. (2015). "Giant tortoises hatch on Galapagos island". Nature. 517 (7534): 271. doi:10.1038/517271a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 25592525.
- ^ Henry Nicholls. "When the rats are away, Galápagos tortoises can play". the Guardian.
- ^ "Once Extinct in the Wild, Galapagos Giant Tortoises Return to Pinzon Island". Scientific American.
- ^ Stephen Messenger. "Baby Tortoises Found On Galápagos Island For First Time In Over 100 Years". The Dodo.
Bibliography
- 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.