The

Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...

consist of four islands:

Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of the Pitcairn Islands, of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS ''Bounty''. Geography The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff coastline. Unlike many other ...

(a volcanic

high island Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

), Henderson Island (an

uplifted ''Uplifted'' is the second studio album by Nigerian singer Flavour N'abania. It was released on July 20, 2010, by Obaino Music and 2nite Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Jay Dey, Oloye, Stormrex, Waga Gee, Asemstone, M-Jay, ...

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

island), and two

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

Oeno Island Oeno Island ( ) or Holiday Island a coral atoll in the South Pacific Ocean, part of the Pitcairn Islands overseas territory. Geography Located northwest of Pitcairn Island, at . Oeno Atoll measures about in diameter, including the central ...

and

Ducie Island Ducie Island is an uninhabited atoll in the Pitcairn Islands. It lies east of Pitcairn Island, and east of Henderson Island, and has a total area of , which includes the lagoon. It is long, measured northeast to southwest, and about wide. ...

. The only inhabited island, Pitcairn, has an area of and a population density of ; it is only accessible by boat through

Bounty Bay Bounty Bay is an embayment of the Pacific Ocean into Pitcairn Island. It is named after the ''Bounty'', a British naval vessel whose eighteenth-century mutiny was immortalized in the novel ''Mutiny on the Bounty'', and the numerous subsequent ...

. The other islands are at a distance of more than .

Location

The

as a group of islands in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

:() * Pitcairn Island (main island) () * Henderson Island () *

() *

() Situated in the South

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, about one-half of the way from

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, they are one of the most remote sites of human habitation on Earth. The only inhabited island, Pitcairn, is at 25.04 south, 130.06 west. Pitcairn is about southeast of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, and over from

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Area

:''Total:'' :''Land:'' :''Water:'' Pitcairn Island is about long and wide. This is about of the size of

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

Land boundaries

Coastline

Maritime claims

''Exclusive economic zone:''
''Territorial sea:''

Climate

The Pitcairn Islands have a maritime

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(''Af'' according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

), with the climate being warm and humid year-round, with no dry season. The warmest month in Adamstown is February, with a mean of , while the coolest months are July and August, with a mean of . The highest temperature recorded was during March. Because of their maritime location, the temperature has never dropped below . Adamstown receives of rainfall annually over 150 rainy days, with the rain being evenly distributed across the year. The climate of the Pitcairn Islands is modified by southeast trade winds.

Terrain

The Pitcairn Islands have a rugged terrain caused by volcanic formation, with a rocky coastline and cliffs.

Elevation extremes

''Lowest point:''

coastline 0 m (sea level)
''Highest point:'' Pawala Valley Ridge

Natural resources

Miro trees (used for handicrafts), fish
''Note:''

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

, and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

have been discovered offshore

Natural hazards

Tropical Cyclones A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

(especially November to May)

Environment – current issues

Deforestation (only a small portion of the original forest remains because of burning and clearing for settlement)

Maps

Worldwide map services show very little detail of the islands, and are even of limited use to show the location of them with respect to each other and to other islands, because they are so small and far apart. However, Mapquest zoom level 1 is a suitable map to see the location between Peru and New Zealand. For the location with respect to

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

, see the inset of :Image:French Polynesia map.jpg.

References

External links

Map of Pitcairn showing place namesMap showing location of the Pitcairn Islands with respect to other island groups and to continents
{{Geography of Oceania pl:Pitcairn#Geografia