Queen Mary's Peak is the summit of the island of
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...
, in the
South Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
. It has an
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...
of 2,062 metres (6,765 ft) above sea level. It is named after
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King-Empe ...
, the
Queen consort of
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
. It is the highest point of the
British overseas territory of
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...
, and of any British overseas territory with a permanent population.
Outline
The mountain is the peak of the massive
shield volcano which forms the island. A wide
summit crater caps the peak, and it contains a heart-shaped
crater lake
Crater Lake ( Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fill ...
. This lake is normally frozen during the winter, and the upper slopes of the volcano are covered in
snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
.
The only recorded eruption began on 10 October 1961 from a vent on the north shore of the island, and continued into March 1962. The entire population of the island (264) had to be evacuated and did not return until 1963. There was an eruption before it during the early 18th century on the main peak on Tristan da Cunha when the island was not inhabited, as islanders were unaware about previous volcanic activity before the 1961 eruption as they could not find any evidence of previous eruptions. There was also a 2004 eruption which happened underwater as there was an earthquake on Tristan da Cunha as well pumice that was picked up by fishermen suggesting that the volcano is still active.
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
instructed captains to sail via Tristan. In 2004, Ellen MacArthur
Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur (born 8 July 1976) is a retired English sailor, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in Cowes, Isle of Wight.
MacArthur is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005, ...
sighted the Peak on her record-breaking circumnavigation of the world.
Climbing the peak
The first known attempt to climb the peak was in 1793 by the French naturalist Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars
Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars (5 November 1758, Bournois – 12 May 1831, Paris) was an eminent French botanist known for his work collecting and describing orchids from the three islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion.
Introd ...
, but this was without success. However, from this expedition hundreds of plants were collected and catalogued. In January 1817, the first successful climb was made to the peak. Queen Mary's Peak is a steep climb and can take 5 to 10 hours, depending on the capability of the walker. The walk and climb is allowed only when accompanied by a local guide.
Queen Mary's Peak is the brand name for Tristan da Cunha island knitwear
Knitted fabric is a textile that results from knitting, the process of inter-looping of yarns or inter-meshing of loops. Its properties are distinct from woven fabric in that it is more flexible and can be more readily constructed into smaller pi ...
, which is exported to 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 ...
.
See also
* Geography of Tristan da Cunha
*
* List of volcanoes in Tristan da Cunha
References
Tristan da Cunha Island Tour: Peak
Other projects
{{Tristan da Cunha
Volcanoes of Tristan da Cunha
Volcanic crater lakes
Geography of Tristan da Cunha
Mountains and hills of British Overseas Territories