Robinson Crusoe Island ( es, Isla Róbinson Crusoe, ), formerly known as Más a Tierra (), is the second largest of the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...

, situated 670 km (362 nmi; 416 mi) west of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, in the

South Pacific Ocean South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. It is the more populous of the inhabited islands in the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

(the other being Alejandro Selkirk Island), with most of that in the town of

San Juan Bautista San Juan Bautista is the Spanish-language name of Saint John the Baptist. It may refer to: Places Bolivia *San Juan Bautista, Bolivia, Jesuit mission ruins near the village of San Juan de Taperas Chile *San Juan Bautista, Chile, Juan Fernández ...

at Cumberland Bay on the island's north coast."Censos de poblacion y vivienda"
Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (2012). Retrieved 2 January 2013. From 1704 to 1709, the island was home to the marooned sailor

Alexander Selkirk Alexander Selkirk (167613 December 1721) was a Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer who spent four years and four months as a castaway (1704–1709) after being marooned by his captain, initially at his request, on an uninhabited island ...

, who at least partially inspired novelist Daniel Defoe's fictional

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tr ...

in his 1719 novel, although the novel is explicitly set in the Caribbean. This was just one of several survival stories from the period of which Defoe would have been aware. To reflect the literary lore associated with the island and attract tourists, the Chilean government renamed the place Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966.

Geography

Robinson Crusoe Island has a mountainous and undulating terrain, formed by ancient

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock ( magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

flows which have built up from numerous

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

episodes. The highest point on the island is above sea level at El Yunque. Intense

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is di ...

has resulted in the formation of steep valleys and ridges. A narrow peninsula is formed in the southwestern part of the island called Cordón Escarpado. The island of Santa Clara is located just off the southwest coast. Robinson Crusoe Island lies to the west of the boundary between the

Nazca Plate The Nazca Plate or Nasca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction, along the Peru–Chile Trench, of the ...

and the

South American Plate The South American Plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African Plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mi ...

, and rose from the ocean 3.8 – 4.2 million years ago. A volcanic eruption on the island was reported in 1743 from El Yunque, but this event is uncertain. On 20 February 1835, a day-long eruption began from a submarine vent north of Punta Bacalao. The event was quite minor—only a Volcanic Explosivity Index 1 eruption—but it produced explosions and flames that lit up the island, along with

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

Climate

Robinson Crusoe has a subtropical climate, moderated by the cold

Humboldt Current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and p ...

, which flows to the east of the island, and the southeast

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...

. Temperatures range from to , with an annual mean of . Higher elevations are generally cooler, with occasional frosts. Rainfall is greater in the winter months, and varies with elevation and exposure; elevations above experience almost daily rainfall, while the western,

leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

side of the island is lower and drier.

Flora and fauna

The Fernandezian Region is a

floristic region A phytochorion, in phytogeography, is a geographic area with a relatively uniform composition of plant species. Adjacent phytochoria do not usually have a sharp boundary, but rather a soft one, a transitional area in which many species from both re ...

which includes the

. It is in the

Antarctic Floristic Kingdom The Antarctic Floristic Kingdom, also the Holantarctic Kingdom, is a floristic kingdomTakhtajan, A. (1986). ''Floristic Regions of the World''. (translated by T.J. Crovello & A. Cronquist). University of California Press, BerkeleyPDF

, but often also included within the Neotropical Kingdom. As World Biosphere Reserves since 1977, these islands have been considered of maximum scientific importance because of the

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

plant families,

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

, and

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of flora and fauna. Out of 211 native plant species, 132 (63%) are endemic, as well as more than 230 species of insects."Forest on Robinson Crusoe Island"
Wondermondo (2012). Retrieved 18 October 2012. Robinson Crusoe Island has one endemic plant family, Lactoridaceae. The

Magellanic penguin The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally see ...

is also found there. The Juan Fernández firecrown is an endemic and critically endangered red

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics ar ...

, which is best known for its needle-fine black beak and silken feather coverage. The Masatierra petrel is named after the island's former name. The island (along with neighbouring Santa Clara) 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 Masatierra petrels,

pink-footed shearwater The pink-footed shearwater (''Ardenna creatopus'') is a species of seabird. The bird is in length, with a wingspan. It is polymorphic, having both darker- and lighter-phase populations. Together with the equally light-billed flesh-footed shea ...

s, Juan Fernandez firecrowns and

Juan Fernandez tit-tyrant The Juan Fernandez tit-tyrant (''Anairetes fernandezianus'') is an Endangered species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands in the South Pacific Ocean off ...

History

The island was first named Juan Fernandez Island after Juan Fernández, a Spanish sea captain and explorer who was the first to land there in 1574. It was also known as Más a Tierra. There is no evidence of an earlier discovery either by

Polynesians Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...

, despite the proximity to

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

, or by Native Americans. Anderson, Atholl; Haberle, Simon; Rojas, Gloria; Seelenfreund, Andrea; Smith, Ian & Worthy, Trevor (2002)
''An Archeological Exploration of Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile''
. New Zealand Archaeological Association. From 1681 to 1684, a Miskito man known as Will was marooned on the island. Twenty years later, in 1704, the sailor

was also marooned there, living in solitude for four years and four months. Selkirk had been gravely concerned about the seaworthiness of his ship, ''Cinque Ports'' (which ended up sinking very shortly after), and declared his wish to be left on the island during a mid-voyage restocking stop. His captain, Thomas Stradling, a colleague on the voyage of privateer and explorer

William Dampier William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumna ...

, was tired of his dissent and obliged. All Selkirk had left with him was a musket, gunpowder, carpenter's tools, a knife, a Bible, and some clothing. The story of Selkirk's rescue is included in the 1712 book ''

A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World ''A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World'' is a 1712 book by Edward Cooke, about a real-life trip around the world in two ships, under the command of Woodes Rogers. It is notable for including a firsthand account of castaway Alexander Sel ...

'' by Edward Cooke. In an 1840 narrative, ''

Two Years Before the Mast ''Two Years Before the Mast'' is a memoir by the American author Richard Henry Dana Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage from Boston to California on a merchant ship starting in 1834. A film adaptation under th ...

'',

Richard Henry Dana, Jr. Richard Henry Dana Jr. (August 1, 1815 – January 6, 1882) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of a colonial family, who gained renown as the author of the classic American memoir ''Two Years Before the Mast''. ...

described the port of Juan Fernandez as a young prison colony. The penal institution was soon abandoned and the island again uninhabited before a permanent colony was eventually established in the latter part of the 19th century.

Joshua Slocum Joshua Slocum (February 20, 1844 – on or shortly after November 14, 1909) was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian-born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he wr ...

visited the island between 26 April and 5 May 1896, during his solo global circumnavigation on the sloop ''Spray''. The island and its 45 inhabitants are referred to in detail in Slocum's memoir, '' Sailing Alone Around the World''.

World War I

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Vice Admiral

Maximilian von Spee Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert Reichsgraf von Spee (22 June 1861 – 8 December 1914) was a naval officer of the German ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy), who commanded the East Asia Squadron during World War I. Spee entered the navy in ...

German East Asia Squadron The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at the Battle of the ...

stopped and re-coaled at the island 26–28 October 1914, four days before the

Battle of Coronel The Battle of Coronel was a First World War Imperial German Navy victory over the Royal Navy on 1 November 1914, off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. The East Asia Squadron (''Ostasiengeschwader'' or ''Kreuzergeschwader'') o ...

. While at the island, the admiral was unexpectedly rejoined by the armed merchant cruiser '' Prinz Eitel Friedrich'', which he had earlier detached to attack Allied shipping in Australian waters. On 9 March 1915 , the last surviving cruiser of von Spee's squadron after his death at the Battle of the Falklands, returned to the island's Cumberland Bay, hoping to be interned by the Chilean authorities. Caught and fired upon by a British squadron at the Battle of Más a Tierra on 14 March, the ship was scuttled by its crew.

2010 tsunami

On 27 February 2010 Robinson Crusoe Island was hit by a tsunami following a magnitude 8.8 earthquake. The tsunami was about high when it reached the island. Sixteen people lost their lives, and most of the coastal village of San Juan Bautista was washed away.Bodenham, Patrick (9 December 2010)
"Adrift on Robinson Crusoe Island, the forgotten few"
''The Independent''. Retrieved 7 April 2014. The only warning the islanders had came from a 12-year-old girl, who noticed the sudden

drawback Drawback may refer to: * Drawback, a type of refund in the United States * ''Drawback'' (album), a 1996 album by X Marks the Pedwalk * Drawback, the withdrawal of water following or preceding a tsunami See also * * * disadvantage * disadva ...

of the sea that forewarns of the arrival of a tsunami wave and saved many of her neighbours from harm.

Society

Isla Juan Fernandez- Langostas (Lobsters)

Robinson Crusoe had an estimated population of 843 in 2012. Most of the island's inhabitants live in the village of

on the north coast at Cumberland Bay. Although the community maintains a rustic serenity dependent on the

spiny lobster Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, S ...

trade, residents employ a few vehicles, a satellite Internet connection and televisions. The main airstrip,

Robinson Crusoe Airfield Robinson Crusoe Airport es, Aeródromo Robinson Crusoe, is an airport serving Robinson Crusoe Island, a Pacific island off the coast of Chile. It is part of Chile's Valparaíso Region, and is from Valparaíso. The Robinson Crusoe Island non-d ...

, is located near the tip of the island's southwestern peninsula. The flight from

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

is just under three hours. A ferry runs from the airstrip to San Juan Bautista.Gordon, Nick (14 December 2004)
"Chile: The real Crusoe had it easy"
''The Telegraph''. Retrieved 18 October 2012. Tourists number in the hundreds per year. One activity gaining popularity is

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chri ...

, particularly on the wreck of the German light cruiser ''Dresden'', which was scuttled in Cumberland Bay during World War I.

Maya statue hypothesis

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Dis ...

documentary was filmed on Robinson Crusoe Island. It aired on 3 January 2010 and showed two rock formations that Canadian explorer Jim Turner claimed were badly degraded Mayan statues. With no other

sign A sign is an Physical object, object, quality (philosophy), quality, event, or Non-physical entity, entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to ...

of any

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

human presence on the island, however, the program has been criticized as lacking in scientific credibility.Lowry, Brian (26 June 2010)
"Wackadoodle Demo Widens"
''Variety''. Retrieved 9 February 2014. Robinson Crusoe Island bayside view of the town of San Juan Bautista