Farallón de Pájaros (from Spanish ''Farallón de Pájaros'', meaning "Birds' Sea Stack", see

Stack (geology) A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology ...

), also known as Uracus or Urracas (from Spanish ''Urracas'', meaning "Magpies"), is a small (2.3 km²) uninhabited volcanic island, the northernmost island in the Northern Mariana Islands chain.

History

From 1899 to 1914, Farallón de Pájaros was controlled by the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

and was administered as part of the colony of German New Guinea. In 1903 the island was leased to a Japanese company, which hunted birds whose feathers were exported to Japan and then to Paris. After World War I, the island was awarded to the Empire of Japan, by the League of Nations as part of the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the "South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following Wo ...

. After World War II, Farallón de Pájaros was awarded to the United States as part of the

UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. History Spain initially claimed the islands that later composed the territory of the Trus ...

, and is currently administered as part of the Northern Islands Municipality of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. In 1985, per the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the island was designated as a wilderness area for the protection and conservation of natural resources. Since 2009, the island has been part of

Marianas Trench Marine National Monument The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument is a United States National Monument created by President George W. Bush by the presidential proclamation no. 8335United States.

Geography

Farallón de Pájaros is the northernmost island of the Marianas chain. It is located northwest of the Maug Islands and north of

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

, the main island of the Northern Mariana Islands. Its northern neighbor is

South Iwo Jima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Minami-Iōtō , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = South Iwo Jima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_relief ...

of the Ogasawara Islands of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, located away. Farallón de Pájaros is nearly circular, with a length of , a width of and has an area of . Farallón de Pájaros is the top of an active

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

with a height of above sea level. The base of this stratovolcano is about below sea level, it has a diameter of 15 to 20 kilometers.

Volcanic activity

Between 1864 and 1953, 15 volcanic eruptions of Farallón de Pájaros have been recorded. In the area of Farallón de Pájaros are two

submarine volcano Submarine volcanoes are underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. Many submarine volcanoes are located near areas of tectonic plate formation, known as mid-ocean ridges. The volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges ...

es: The Makhahnas Seamount located about southwest, reaching a height of below sea level, and last erupted in 1967. The Ahyi Seamount located about south-east and reaches a height of below sea level. It is associated with a possible eruption in 1979, an eruption in 2001, and a series of underwater eruptions from 24 April to 17 May 2014, with hydrothermal activity continuing at least to December 2014.

Important Bird Area

The island has been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports populations of Micronesian megapodes and

sooty tern The sooty tern (''Onychoprion fuscatus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans, returning to land only to breed on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Taxonomy The sooty tern was described by Carl Linnaeu ...

References

Horst Lehne and Christoph Gäbler: ''Über die Marianen.'' Lehne-Verlag, Wohldorf in Germany 1972.
* Russell E. Brainard et al.: ''Coral reef ecosystem monitoring report of the Mariana Archipelago: 2003–2007.'' (=''PIFSC Special Publication'', SP-12-01)

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center 2012
Kapitel Farallon de Pajaros
(englisch, PDF, 10,4 MB)).

Notes

External links

* {{Former German colonies Stratovolcanoes of the United States Active volcanoes Volcanoes of the Northern Mariana Islands Former German colonies Uninhabited islands of the Northern Mariana Islands Important Bird Areas of the Northern Mariana Islands Seabird colonies Holocene stratovolcanoes