Queen Mary's Peak is the summit of the island of
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascensi ...
, in the
South Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. It has an
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of 2,062 metres (6,765 ft) above sea level. It is named after
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 Janua ...
, the
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...
of
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
George was born during the reign of his pa ...
. It is the highest point of the
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, ...
of
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory located in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and the archipelago of Tri ...
, and the
highest point of any British territory with a permanent population. Queen Mary's Peak is ranked 17th by
topographic isolation
The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum geographical distance, horizontal distance to a point of equal elevation, representing a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. It can be calculated for small hills and is ...
.
Outline
The mountain is the peak of the massive
shield volcano
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava ...
which forms the island. A wide
summit crater caps the peak, and it contains a heart-shaped
crater lake. This lake is normally frozen during the winter, and the upper slopes of the volcano are covered in
snow
Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
.
The first observed eruption began on 10 October 1961 from a vent on the north shore of the island and continued into March 1962. The entire population of the island (264) had to be evacuated and did not return until 1963. There was an eruption during the early 18th century on the main peak on Tristan da Cunha when the island was not inhabited; islanders were unaware about previous volcanic activity before the 1961 eruption, as they could not find any evidence of previous eruptions. There was also a 2004 eruption which happened underwater, as there was an earthquake on Tristan da Cunha, as well as pumice that was picked up by fishermen, suggesting that the volcano is still active.
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
instructed captains to sail via Tristan. In 2004, Ellen MacArthur sighted the Peak on her record-breaking circumnavigation of the world.
Climbing the peak
The first known attempt to climb the peak was in 1793 by the French naturalist
Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars
Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars (5 November 1758, Saint-Martin-de-la-Place, Bournois – 12 May 1831, Paris) was a French botanist known for his work collecting and describing orchids from the three islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and RÃ ...
, but this was without success. However, from this expedition, hundreds of plants were collected and catalogued. In January 1817, the first successful climb was made to the peak. Queen Mary's Peak is a steep climb and can take 5 to 10 hours, depending on the capability of the walker. The walk and climb is allowed only when accompanied by a local guide.
Queen Mary's Peak is the brand name for Tristan da Cunha island knitwear, which is exported to New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
.
See also
* Geography of Tristan da Cunha
* List of mountains and hills of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
* List of volcanoes in Tristan da Cunha
References
Tristan da Cunha Island Tour: Peak
Other projects
{{Highest points of Africa
Volcanoes of Tristan da Cunha
Volcanic crater lakes
Geography of Tristan da Cunha
Mountains and hills of British Overseas Territories