HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sandy Point is the easternmost extremity 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 The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...
Ocean. It is a distance of about 7 miles (12 km) by sea from the island's only settlement, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. There is a
beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...
of black volcanic sand fringed by low
cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...
s and a sloping
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
leading up to Tristan's mountainous interior. Its
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...
is warmer and drier than that of the Settlement, being in the lee of the island's prevailing winds. A farm was established in the 1950s, and although attempts to grow vegetables were abandoned, the
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
plantation and fruit trees of
apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
,
pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...
,
plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...
and
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
make the area unique. The grassy slopes above the cliffs are grazed by
sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...
and a
herd A herd is a social group of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with this is called '' herding''. These animals are known as gregarious animals. The term ''herd'' ...
of about 15
beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk (production)). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf opera ...
. There is a colony of
Northern rockhopper penguin The northern rockhopper penguin, Moseley's rockhopper penguin, or Moseley's penguin (''Eudyptes moseleyi'') is a penguin species native to the southern Indian Ocean, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It is described as distinct from the southern rockho ...
s (known on the island as ''pinnamins'') at the east end of Sandy Point. The penguins come onshore to breed between August and December, and again for
moulting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...
between January and March. Harvesting penguin eggs is a tradition on Tristan da Cunha, but the northern rockhopper is now listed as an
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
and eggs are no longer collected on the main island.


History

In 1882 the
America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
n
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
''Henry B. Paul'' was wrecked on the beach at Sandy Point, and
black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...
s came ashore. Within three years they had spread to the entire island, devastating the native birdlife as well as islanders' crops. In 1956 a number of Gough moorhens were reportedly released at Sandy Point, and have subsequently colonised the island. These "island cocks" are closely related to the extinct Tristan moorhen, and are believed by the Tristanians to eat the eggs of the Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross. In June 2006 islanders were fishing offshore at Sandy Point when they spotted an
oil platform An oil platform (also called an oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, etc.) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platforms w ...
washed ashore on the coast. The 6000-tonne platform ''PXXI'' had been lost in bad weather en route from
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
to
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
.


The plantation

The Sandy Point
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
consists mainly of introduced Monterey pines, a
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of tree native to coastal
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
which is known for its versatile, fast-growing, medium-density
softwood Scots pine, a typical and well-known softwood Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the sof ...
. The indigenous Island Cape Myrtle is also present, along with pussy willow, grey poplar and various ''
Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
'' species. The impact of invasive trees on Tristan's
ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...
is potentially large, with the Monterey pine being notably successful in extending its
range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...
. There have been efforts to eradicate invasive
loganberry The loganberry (''Rubus'' × ''loganobaccus'') is a hybrid of the North American blackberry ('' Rubus ursinus'') and the European raspberry (''Rubus idaeus''), accidentally bred in 1881 by James Harvey Logan, for whom they are named. They are ...
from Sandy Point, where it formed a dense undergrowth in the plantation, making the area unsuitable for nesting albatrosses and Atlantic petrels. The islanders do not make extensive use of the plantation, preferring to import wood more cheaply from
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. However, in the 1980s the Sandy Point Hut was rebuilt by the Agriculture Department, allowing forestry workers to be based there.


The orchard

The Tristanians traditionally held an annual ''"Happling Day"'' outing to collect fruit from the
orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...
. A sour
cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...
known as ''Old Tom'' was made from the apples grown at Sandy Point. In more recent years, the once-productive orchard had been in decline, being overrun by loganberry and with many ageing trees dead or dying. In 2007 the Tristan Conservation Department restocked the area with 52 new apple trees of the ''Royal Gala'' and ''
Golden Delicious Golden Delicious is a cultivar of apple. It is one of the 15 most popular apple cultivars in the United States. It is not closely related to Red Delicious. History Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of Grimes ...
'' varieties. Pear and peach trees were also imported from
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
as part of the restoration of the Sandy Point area.UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum. ''Restoration of the Sandy Point area.''
/ref>


See also

* Geography of Tristan da Cunha


References


External links


''Tristan Travels''
Tristan da Cunha Geography of Tristan da Cunha {{Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha