Where are the Tristan da Cunha islands located?
Tristan da Cunha ( /ˌtrɪstən də ˈkuːn(j)ə/ ), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the south Atlantic Ocean which includes Gough Island. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately 1,511 miles (2,432 km) off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa,…
Who was the first person to discover Tristan da Cunha?
Tristan da Cunha was first discovered in 1506 by the Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha, who was leading an expedition to India. Needless to say, he named the main island after himself.
What kind of climate does Tristan da Cunha have?
Under the Trewartha classification Tristan da Cunha is a humid subtropical climate due to the lack of cold weather. The number of rainy days is comparable to the Aleutian Islands at a much higher latitude in the northern hemisphere, while sunshine hours are comparable to Juneau, Alaska, 20° farther from the equator.
Is there an airstrip on the island of Tristan da Cune?
This includes Saint Helena and also near-equatorial Ascension Island, which lies some 1,741 miles (2,802 km) to the north of Tristan. There is no airstrip of any kind on the main island, meaning that the only way of travelling in and out of Tristan is by boat, a six-day trip from South Africa.
When did the Dutch first visit Tristan da Cunha?
On 7 February 1643, the Heemstede, captained by Claes Gerritsz Bierenbroodspot, landed her crew on Tristan da Cunha. The Dutch visited the island four more times for supplies in the next 25 years.
When did Tristan da Cunha become a British dependency?
Tristan became a dependency of the British Crown in October 1875. On November 27, 1885, the island suffered one of its worst tragedies after an iron barque named West Riding approached the island, whilst en route to Sydney, Australia from Bristol.