Adamstown is the capital and only settlement of the Pitcairn Islands, the only

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

that is located in the southern

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

. As of 2023, Adamstown has a population of 35, which is the entire population of the Pitcairn Islands. All the other islands in the group are uninhabited. Adamstown is where all residents live, while they grow food in other areas of the island. Adamstown is the third-smallest capital in the world by population. It has access to

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, satellite Internet and a

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

; however, the main means of communication remains ham radio. The "Hill of Difficulty" connects the island's jetty to the town.

History

The

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

of the Pitcairn Islands begins with the settlement of the islands by Polynesians in the 11th century. The Polynesians established a culture that flourished for four centuries and then vanished. Pitcairn was settled again in 1790 by a group of British mutineers on HMS ''Bounty'' and Tahitians. Adamstown is named for the last surviving mutineer,

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

Geography

The settlement is located on the central-north side of the island of Pitcairn, facing the

and close to the Bounty Bay, the only seaport of the island.

Climate

Adamstown has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest 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 southeast Florida, United States ...

(''Af'') under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system. The hamlet features a wet, very warm climate averaging of rain a year. The wettest month is December and temperatures do not vary significantly throughout the year.

Government

The Present Committee on Geographic Names stated that Auckland, New Zealand is the administrative centre for these islands because the Governor of Pitcairn, the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, is based in Auckland. However, the same cited document describes Adamstown as the capital of the BOT on the following page.

Personalities

* Ned Young (1762–1800) * Fletcher Christian (1764–1793) *

(1768–1829) * Joshua Hill (1773–1844?) * Thursday October Christian (1790–1831) * Steve Christian (b. 1951) * Brenda Christian (b. 1953) * Meralda Warren (b. 1959)

Religion

* Adamstown Church

Notes and references

External links

* {{Authority control Capitals in Oceania Geography of the Pitcairn Islands Populated places established in 1790 Capitals of British Overseas Territories Populated places in Oceania 1790 establishments in the Pitcairn Islands