Insular Chile, also called ''Las islas Esporádicas'', or "the Sporadic Islands", is a scattered group of

oceanic islands Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania ** Oceanic climate ** Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island ...

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 ...

origin located in the South Pacific, at some distance from mainland Chile, and which are under the sovereignty of Chile. The islands lie on the Nazca Plate, which is separate to the South American continental plate. Confusingly, 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 ...

and the

Desventuradas Islands The Desventuradas Islands ( es, Islas Desventuradas, , "Unfortunate Islands" or ''Islas de los Desventurados'', "Islands of the Unfortunate Ones") is a group of four small oceanic islands located off the coast of Chile, northwest of Santiago in ...

are considered "Continental Insular Chile" (despite not being continental islands); Salas y Gómez Island and

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 ...

both geographically situated in

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

form the zone known as "Oceanic Insular Chile". All of insular Chile is administrated as part of the

Valparaíso Region The Valparaíso Region ( es, Región de Valparaíso, links=no, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's second-highest population of 1,790,219 , and fourth-smallest area of , ...

History

Easter Island was first inhabited by a Polynesian culture known as the

Rapa Nui 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 nearly ...

, and the Rapa Nui knew about Salas y Gómez Island during prehistoric times. As such, academics often group them in with

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

rather than

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. Descendants of the ancient Rapa Nui make up the majority of Easter Island's current population, and they still consider themselves Polynesians, not associating their island with the culture of South America. The Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands are geographically closer to South America, and there is no evidence to suggest a link to Polynesians. However, they were also never inhabited by any Indigenous American group, unlike with the

Caribbean Islands Almost all of the Caribbean islands are in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest island is Cuba. Other sizable islands include Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Some of the smaller islands are re ...

in the

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 ...

. The Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands have been included in wider definitions of Oceania, that extend it beyond the ethnocultural regions of

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

and Polynesia. This is not only because of their status as remote Pacific islands with no geologicial connections to the Americas, but also because of their marine fauna, which shares many similarities to the rest of Oceania.

Geography and environment

The Sporadic Islands are not the only Chilean insular territories; rather, these islands represent just , around 0.3%, of the total, the rest being 3,739 islands and 2,180 islets, the combined land area of which totals , nearly 14% of which is effectively under Chilean control, part of what officially distinguishes "insular Chile" from "continental Chile". Insular Chile consists of: # The

, composed of

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 tra ...

, Alejandro Selkirk and Santa Clara islands, located west of

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

# The

, composed of San Ambrosio and San Félix Islands, located more than west of continental Chile, opposite the Atacama Region #

, or ''Rapa Nui'', west of

Caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

, with an area of the main island of the Sporadic Islands # Salas y Gómez Island, located west of

Chañaral Chañaral is a small coastal city and commune in the Atacama Region, Chile and capital of the Chañaral Province. It is largely unknown by tourists, who generally head straight for towns such as San Pedro de Atacama. The town has no high rise ...

and northeast of Easter Island. Of these islands, only Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe are inhabited. Of the two, Easter Island is the farthest from the South American continent. The Juan Fernández archipelago has become culturally South American, due to the lack of human inhabitation prior to European discovery. The Sporadic islands are part of the

. Easter Island and Salas y Gómez form the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Isla de Pascua 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 nearly ...

, the only commune of Isla de Pascua Province. The Desventuradas islands and Juan Fernández belong to

Valparaíso Province Valparaíso Province ( es, Provincia de Valparaíso) is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the coastal city of Valparaíso (pop. 275,982). Administration As a province, Valparaíso is a second- ...

, and are part of the commune of Juan Fernández. Scientific journal '' PLOS One'' wrote about the islands in 2016, claiming "Chile's offshore islands are among the few oceanic archipelagos along the west coast of South America. These islands have cultural and ecological connections to the broader insular Pacific, yet our scientific understanding of them is extremely limited." They also said, "The Juan Fernández and Desventuradas islands are distinct ecoregions within the

Temperate South America Temperate South America is a biogeography, biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the temperate and subtropical waters of South America, including both the Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coasts of the continent a ...

n realm. They possess a unique mix of tropical, subtropical and temperate marine species, and although close to continental South America, elements of the biota have greater affinities with the central and south Pacific, owing to the

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 pr ...

, which creates a strong biogeographic barrier between these islands and the continent."

References

External links

Oceanographic letter of the Service of Chilean Hydrography
{{coord missing, Chile Pacific islands of Chile Regions of Oceania

History

Geography and environment

See also

References

External links