Pebble Island is one of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, situated north of

West Falkland West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastli ...

. It is possibly named after the peculiarly spherical pebbles found at its western tip.

Description

The island, the fifth largest in the Falklands archipelago, stretches for and about at its widest point, with a total area of . Its three high points are First Mountain , Middle Mountain and Marble Mountain , all of which lie in the western part of the island. The eastern part of the island has lakes and wetlands and is of high conservation value. The two halves are joined by an

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

on which lies Pebble Island Settlement where the inhabitants live. The island has been a

sheep farm Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk ( sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin ...

since 1846; 6,000

Corriedale sheep The Corriedale is a New Zealand breed of sheep. It was bred from about 1882 in the South Island by James Little, who cross-bred Merino and Lincoln Longwool sheep. The breed was officially recognised in 1911. It has been exported to Australia a ...

are farmed, along with 125 head of

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

and

dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species '' Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was ...

Settlement

Pebble Island Settlement (

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 ...

/Argentine name: ''Puerto Calderón'')() is the headquarters of the Pebble Island farm, and is located on the island's

. There is a shop (open three days a week), a one classroom school, an

airstrip An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

, a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

.Wigglesworth, Angela. (1992) ''Falkland People''. Pub. Peter Owen. .

History

The settlement's Spanish name "Puerto Calderón" (meaning "port of the

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...

r vat) reflects the area's early history in sealing, and hunting penguins for oil. The farm was established in 1846 by John Markham Dean (elsewhere, John Henry Dean), an Englishman who bought Pebble and three neighbouring islands for £400. Dean's family concern passed on to Dean Brothers Ltd, but it is currently managed locally by Raymond Evans, the great nephew of Johnny Evans who introduced sheep to the island and slaughtered the first feral cattle. During the Falklands War, the island was occupied by Argentine forces which created the ''Estación Aeronaval Calderón'' (naval air station Calderon), protected by elements of 2nd Naval Infantry Battalion, which was assaulted successfully by the British Special Air Service in the " Raid on Pebble Island". Thirty to one-hundred and fifty Argentine soldiers were based here to protect the airfield. HMS ''Coventry'' was sunk off the coast of Pebble Island. According to the inquiry into its loss, the ship sank north of Pebble Island in May 1982. The co-ordinates of the sinking are 51 03.6S, 59 42.2W and this is about from the nearest point on Pebble Island. There are memorials on the island to the British destroyer HMS ''Coventry'' and to an Argentinian Lear Jet, both destroyed during the conflict. More recently, Pebble Island Settlement became one of the first in the Falkland Islands to use

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...

s to generate most of its electricity. In October 2018, it was announced that Pebble Island was up for sale by Claire Harris, descendant of John Markham Dean. The new buyer would need to obtain a licence from the Falklands Government to ensure that the island is kept in line with the rest of the islands.

Important bird area

Pebble Island can be divided into a marshy east, known for its

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

and

wading bird 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

s as well as a hilly west, known for its penguins. The Pebble Island group, including the much smaller White Island and some islets, has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Birds for which the site is of conservation significance include

Falkland steamer duck The Falkland steamer duck (''Tachyeres brachypterus'') is a species of flightless duck found on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The steamer ducks get their name from their unconventional swimming behaviour in which they flap the ...

s (100 breeding pairs), ruddy-headed geese (175 pairs),

gentoo penguin The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The ea ...

s (1700 pairs),

southern rockhopper penguin The southern rockhopper penguin group (''Eudyptes chrysocome''), is a species of rockhopper penguin, that is sometimes considered distinct from the northern rockhopper penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian ...

s (6800 pairs),

macaroni penguin The macaroni penguin (''Eudyptes chrysolophus'') is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the royal penguin, and some authorities consid ...

s (10 pairs), southern giant petrels (20 pairs),

sooty shearwater The sooty shearwater (''Ardenna grisea'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name , and as muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (''A. pacificus ...

s (100 pairs),

striated caracara The striated caracara (''Phalcoboenus australis'') is a bird of prey of the family Falconidae. In the Falkland Islands, it is known as the Johnny rook, probably named after the Johnny penguin ( gentoo penguin). Description The adults' plumage is ...

white-bridled finch The white-bridled finch (''Melanodera melanodera''), also known as the canary-winged finch or black-throated finch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus '' Melanodera'' together with the yellow-bridled finch (''M. xanthogramma''). Fo ...

es,

blackish cinclodes The blackish cinclodes (''Cinclodes antarcticus'') is a passerine bird of the genus ''Cinclodes'' belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is native to the southern tip of South America including the Falkland Islands where it is known as ...

and

Cobb's wren Cobb's wren (''Troglodytes cobbi'') is a fairly small (12-13.5 cm) wren which is endemic to the Falkland Islands. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the house wren (''Troglodytes aedon'') but is now commonly considered to be a sep ...

s. black-necked and

Coscoroba swan The coscoroba swan (''Coscoroba coscoroba'') is a species of waterfowl in subfamily Anserinae of the family Anatidae.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the bi ...

s breed on the main island.

References

*Stonehouse, B. (ed). (2002). ''Encyclopedia of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans''

External links

* {{Falkland Islands topics, state=collapsed Islands of the Falkland Islands Important Bird Areas of the Falkland Islands Seabird colonies Penguin colonies