Farallón de Pájaros (from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

''Farallón de Pájaros'', meaning "Birds' Sea Stack", see Stack (geology)), also known as Uracus or Urracas (from Spanish ''Urracas'', meaning "Magpies"), is a small (2.3 km²) uninhabited

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 a ...

island, the northernmost island in the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...

chain.

History

From 1899 to 1914, Farallón de Pájaros was controlled by the German Empire and was administered as part of the colony of

German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...

. In 1903 the island was leased to a Japanese company, which hunted birds whose feathers were exported to Japan and then to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the island was awarded to the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...

, by the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

as part of the South Seas Mandate. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Farallón de Pájaros was awarded to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and is currently administered as part of the

Northern Islands Municipality Northern Islands Municipality is one of the four main political divisions of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It consists of a long string of the northernmost islands of the Northern Marianas, including (from north to south) Far ...

of the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonwea ...

. 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. 8335 United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Geography

Farallón de Pájaros is the northernmost island of the Marianas chain. It is located northwest of the

Maug Islands Maug (from the Chamorro name for the islands, Ma'ok, meaning "steadfast" or "everlasting") consists of a group of three small uninhabited islands. This island group is part of the Northern Islands Municipality of the Commonwealth of the Northern ...

and north of Saipan, 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 The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic readi ...

of Japan, 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 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 Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

of Farallón de Pájaros have been recorded. In the area of Farallón de Pájaros are two submarine volcanoes: 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 (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of

Micronesian megapode The Micronesian megapode or Micronesian scrubfowl (''Megapodius laperouse'') is an endangered megapode which inhabits islands of the Western Pacific Ocean. Description The Micronesian megapode is a stocky medium-sized bird that is mostly dark b ...

s and sooty terns.

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 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