Clipperton IslandFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clipperton

Native name: Île de Clipperton

Clipperton Island with lagoon, showing depths in metres.

Geography

Location Pacific Ocean

Coordinates10°18′N 109°13′WCoordinates:  10°18′N 109°13′W

Archipelago None

Area 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi)

Highest elevation 29 m (95 ft)

Highest point Clipperton Rock

Country

Possession of France

Demographics

Population Uninhabited

Clipperton

Location of Clipperton Island in the Pacific Ocean

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Clipperton Island

Clipperton Island (French: Île de Clipperton or Île de la Passion) is an uninhabited 9 km2(3.5 sq mi)

coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean, south-west of Mexico, west of Costa Rica and 2420 km north-

west of Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, at 10°18′N 109°13′W. It is an overseas possession

of France under direct authority of the Minister of Overseas France.[1]

It is low-lying and largely barren, save for scattered grasses and a few clumps of coconut palms. A small

volcanic outcrop rising to 29 m (95 ft) on its south-east side is referred to as "Clipperton Rock".[2] The atoll has

been occupied at various times by guano miners, would-be settlers or military personnel, mostly from Mexico,

which claimed it untilinternational arbitration awarded it to France in 1931. It has had no permanent inhabitants

since 1945. It is visited on occasion by fishermen, French Navy patrols, scientific researchers, film crews, and

shipwreck survivors. It has been a popular site for transmissions by ham radio operators.[3]

Contents

  [hide] 

1 Environment

o 1.1 Location, lagoon and climate

o 1.2 Flora and fauna

2 History

o 2.1 Discovery and early claims

o 2.2 Guano mining and the tragedy of 1917

o 2.3 Final arbitration of ownership

o 2.4 Recent developments

o 2.5 Castaways

o 2.6 Recent history

o 2.7 Amateur radio DX-peditions

3 See also

4 Notes

5 References

6 External links

o 6.1 Photo galleries

o 6.2 General websites

o 6.3 French-language websites

o 6.4 Expeditions to Clipperton

Environment[edit source | editbeta]

Location, lagoon and climate[edit source | editbeta]

Coconut palms on Clipperton; the lagoon is visible beyond the trees

Clipperton is about 945 km (587 mi; 510 nmi) south-east of Socorro Island in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, the

nearest land. Its ring-shaped atoll completely encloses a stagnant freshwater lagoon, and is 12 km (7.5 mi) in

circumference. The rim averages 150 m (490 ft) in width, reaching 400 m (1,300 ft) in the west and narrows to

45 m (148 ft) in the north-east, where sea waves occasionally spill over into the lagoon. Land elevations

average 2 m (6.6 ft), though Clipperton Rock, a barren 29 m (95 ft) volcanicoutcrop in the south-east, is

considerably higher and is the highest point. The surrounding reef is exposed at low tide.[4]

The lagoon is devoid of fish, and contains some deep basins with depths of −43 and −22 m (−141 and −72 ft),

including a spot known as Trou-Sans-Fond, or "the bottomless hole", with acidic water at its base. The water is

described as being almost fresh at the surface, and highly eutrophic. Seaweed beds cover approximately 45

percent of the lagoon's surface.[4]

While some sources have rated the lagoon water as non-potable,[5] testimony from the crew of

the tuna clipper M/V Monarch, stranded for 23 days in 1962 after their boat sank, indicates otherwise. Their

report reveals that the lagoon water, while not tasting very good, was drinkable, though "muddy and dirty".

Several of the castaways drank it, with no apparent ill effects.[6]Survivors of the ill-fated Mexican

military colony in 1917 (see below) indicated that they were dependent upon rain for their water supply,

catching it in old boats they used for this purpose.[7]Aside from the lagoon and water caught from rain, no other

freshwater sources are known to exist.

It has a tropical oceanic climate, with average temperatures of 20–32 °C (68–90 °F). The rainy season occurs

from May to October, when it is subject to tropical storms and hurricanes. Surrounding ocean waters are warm,

pushed by equatorial and counter-equatorial currents. It has no known natural resources, its guano having

been depleted early in the 20th century. Although 115 species of fish have been identified in nearby waters the

only economic activity in the area istuna fishing.

Flora and fauna[edit source | editbeta]

When Snodgrass and Heller visited in 1898, they reported that "no land plant is native to the island".[8] Historical

accounts from 1711, 1825 and 1839 show a low grassy or suffrutescent (partially woody) flora (Sachet,

1962). Coconut palms were introduced in the 1890s and a few still survive. Introduction

of pigs by guano miners at the beginning of the 20th century reduced the crab population, which in turn

allowedgrassland to gradually cover about 80 percent of the land surface (Sachet, 1962). The elimination of

these pigs in 1958 has caused most of this vegetation to disappear as millions of crabs (Gecarcinus planatus)

[9] have returned. The result is virtually a sandy desert, with only 674 palms counted by C. Jost during the

"Passion 2001" French mission, and five islets in the lagoon with grass that the terrestrial crabs cannot reach.

Location of Clipperton Island

During Sachet's visit in 1958, the vegetation was found to consist of a sparse cover of spiny grass and low

thickets, a creeping plant (Ipomoea sp.), and stands of coconut palm. This low-lying herbaceous flora seems to

be pioneer in nature, and most of it is believed to be composed of recently introduced species. Sachet

suspected that Heliotropium curassavicum and possibly Portulaca oleracea were native, however (Sachet

1962). On the north-west side the most abundant species are Cenchrus echinatus, Sida rhombifolia,

andCorchorus aestuans. These plants compose a shrub cover up to 30 cm in height and are intermixed

with Eclipta, Phyllanthus, and Solanum, as well as a taller plant, Brassica juncea. One interesting feature

observed is that the vegetation is arranged in parallel rows of species; dense rows of taller species alternate

with lower, more open vegetation. This was assumed to be a result of the phosphate mining method of trench-

digging.[4]

The only land animals known to exist are bright-orange crabs (which are poisonous to consume), birds, lizards

and rats, the last of which seem to have arrived from recently wrecked ships.[10] Bird species include White

Terns, Masked Boobies, Sooty Terns, Brown Boobies, Brown Noddies, Black Noddies, Greater

Frigates, Coots, Martins, Cuckoos andYellow Warblers. Ducks have been reported in the lagoon.[4] The island

has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of the large breeding colony of

Masked Boobies, with 110,000 individual birds recorded.[11] The lagoon harbours millions of isopods, which

swimmers claim can deliver a painful sting.[12]

A recent report (2006) by the NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California, indicates that

the increased rat presence has led to a decline in both crab and bird populations, causing a corresponding

increase in both vegetation and coconut palms. This report urgently recommended eradication of rats so that

vegetation might be reduced and the island might return to its "pre-human" state.[10]

History[edit source | editbeta]

Discovery and early claims[edit source | editbeta]The name Île de la Passion (English: Passion Island) was officially given to Clipperton in 1711 by French discoverers Martin de Chassiron and Michel Du Bocage, commanding the French ships La Princesse and La Découverte. They drew up the first map and annexed it to France. The first scientific expedition took place in 1725 under Frenchman M. Bocage, who lived on the island for several months. In 1858 France formally laid claim.

The name comes from John Clipperton, an English pirate and privateer who fought the Spanish during the

early 18th century, and who is said to have passed by the island. Some sources say he used it as a base for

his raids on shipping, but there is no documentary evidence of this.[13]

Other claimants included the United States, whose American Guano Mining Company claimed it under

the Guano Islands Act of 1856; Mexico also claimed it due to activities undertaken there as early as

1848–1849. On November 17, 1858, Emperor Napoleon   III  annexed it as part of the French colony of Tahiti.

This did not settle the ownership question. On November 24, 1897, French naval authorities found three

Americans working for the American Guano Company, who had raised the American flag. U.S. authorities

denounced their act, assuring the French that they did not intend to assert American sovereignty.[14]

Mexico reasserted its claim late in the 19th century, and on December 13, 1897 sent the gunboat La Democrata to occupy and annex it. A colony was established, and a series of military governors were posted, the last one being Ramón Arnaud (1906–1916). France insisted on its ownership, and a

lengthy diplomatic correspondence between the two nations led to the conclusion of a treaty on March 2, 1909, to seek the arbitration of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, with each nation promising to abide by his determination.[15] His decision would not be rendered until 1931.

Guano mining and the tragedy of 1917[edit source | editbeta]

Survivors from Clipperton Island, 1917

The British Pacific Island Company acquired the rights to guano deposits in 1906 and built a mining settlement

in conjunction with the Mexican government. That same year, a lighthouse was erected under the orders

ofPresident Porfirio Díaz. By 1914 around 100 people—men, women, and children—were living there,

resupplied every two months by a ship fromAcapulco. With the escalation of fighting in the Mexican Revolution,

the regular resupply visits ceased and the inhabitants were left to their own devices.[16]The US

Navy warship Lexington visited in late 1915 and advised evacuation of all inhabitants, but the

governor, Captain Arnaud, declared that evacuation was not necessary.[17]

By 1917 all but one of the male inhabitants had died. Many had perished fromscurvy, while others (including

Captain Arnaud) died during an attempt to sail after a passing ship to fetch help. Lighthouse keeper Victoriano

Álvarez was the last man on the island, together with 15 women and children.[18] Álvarez proclaimed himself

"king" and began an orgy of rape and murder, before being killed by Tirza Rendon, who was the recipient of his

unwanted attention.[17] Almost immediately after Álvarez's death four women and seven children (the last

survivors) were picked up by the US Navy gunship Yorktown on July 18, 1917.[17] No more attempts were made

to colonise it, though it was briefly occupied during the 1930s and 1940s.

The tragic tale of the Mexican colony has been the subject of several novels, including Ivo

Mansmann's Clipperton, Schicksale auf einer vergessenen Insel ("Clipperton, Destinies on a Forgotten

Island"); ISBN 3-354-00709-5 (in German, no English translation available) and Colombian writer Laura

Restrepo's La Isla de la Pasión in Spanish.[19]

Final arbitration of ownership[edit source | editbeta]

On January 28, 1931, King Victor Emanuel declared Clipperton to be a French possession.[20] The French

rebuilt the lighthouse and settled a military outpost, which remained for seven years before being abandoned.

Recent developments[edit source | editbeta]

The island was abandoned by the end of World War II after being briefly occupied by the US (1944–45). Since

then it has been visited by sport fishermen, patrols of the French Navy, and by

Mexican tuna and shark fishermen. There have been infrequent scientific andamateur radio expeditions, and in

1978 Jacques-Yves Cousteau visited with his team of divers and a survivor from the 1917 evacuation to film

a television special called Clipperton: The Island that Time Forgot.[21]

The Brown Booby

It was visited by ornithologist Ken Stager of the Los Angeles County Museum in 1958. Appalled at the

depredations visited by feral pigs upon the island's Brown Booby andMasked Booby colonies (reduced to 500

and 150 birds, respectively), Stager procured ashotgun and killed all 58 pigs. By 2003, the Booby colonies had

25,000 Brown Boobies and 112,000 Masked Boobies, the world's second-largest Brown Booby colony and its

largest Masked Booby colony.[10]

When the independence of Algeria in 1962 threatened French nuclear testing sites in the African nation, the

French Ministry of Defence considered Clipperton Island as a possible replacement. This was eventually ruled

out due to the hostile climate and remote location. The French explored reopening the lagoon and developing a

harbor for trade and tourism during the 1970s but this idea was abandoned. An automatic weather installation

was completed on April 7, 1980, with data collected by this station being transmitted by satellite to Brittany.

In 1981, the Academy of Sciences for Overseas Territories recommended that the island have its own

economic infrastructure, with an airstrip and a fishing port in the lagoon. This would mean opening up the

lagoon by creating a passage in the atoll rim. For this purpose, an agreement was signed with the French

government, represented by the High Commissioner for French Polynesia, whereby the island became French

state property. On October 13, 1986, a meeting took place regarding the establishment of a permanent base

for fishing, between the high commissioner of French Polynesia, representing the state, and the survey firm for

the development and exploitation of the island (SEDEIC). Taking into account the economic constraints, the

distance from markets, and the small size of the atoll, nothing apart from preliminary studies was ever

undertaken to carry out this project. All plans for development were finally abandoned.

Castaways[edit source | editbeta]

In early 1962 the island provided a home to nine crewmen of the sunken tuna clipper MV Monarch, stranded for

23 days from February 6 to March 1. They reported that the lagoon water was drinkable, though they preferred

to drink water from the coconuts they found. Unable to use any of the dilapidated buildings, they constructed a

crude shelter from cement bags and tin salvaged from Quonset hutsbuilt by the American military 20 years

earlier. Wood from the huts was used for firewood, and fish caught off the fringing reef combined with some

potatoes and onions they had saved from their sinking vessel to augment the meager (as it turned out) supply

of coconuts. The crewmen reported that they tried eating bird's eggs, but found them to be rancid, and they

decided after trying to cook a "little black bird" that it did not have enough meat to make the effort worthwhile.

Pigs had been eradicated, though the crewmen reported seeing their skeletons around the atoll. The crewmen

were eventually discovered by another fishing boat and rescued by the United States Navy

destroyer USS Robison.[22]

In 1988, five Mexican fishermen became lost at sea after a storm during their trip along the coast of Costa Rica.

They drifted within sight of the island but were unable to reach it.[23] Steven Longbaugh and David Heritage,

two American deckhands from a fishing boat based in California, were stranded for three weeks in 1998. They

were rescued after rebuilding a survival radio and using distress flares to signal for help.[24]

Recent history[edit source | editbeta]

Satellite image of Clipperton Island

The Mexican and French oceanographic expedition SURPACLIP (UNAM Mexico and UNC Nouméa) made

extensive studies in 1997. In 2001, French geographer Ch. Jost extended the 1997 studies through his French

"Passion 2001" expedition, explaining the evolution of the ecosystem, and releasing several papers, a video

film, and a website.[25] In 2003 Lance Milbrand[26] stayed for 41 days on a National Geographic

Society expedition, recording his adventure in video, photos, and a written diary (see links below).

In 2005, the ecosystem was extensively studied for four months by a scientific mission organized by Jean-Louis

Étienne, which made a complete inventory of mineral, plant, and animal species, studied algae as deep as

100 m (330 ft) below sea level, and examined the effects of pollution. A 2008 expedition from the University of

Washington's School of Oceanography collected sediment cores from the lagoon to study climate change over

the last millennium.[27]

On February 21, 2007, administration was transferred from the High Commissioner of the Republic in French

Polynesia to the Minister of Overseas France.[28]

A recreational scuba diving expedition by the luxury liveaboard safari boat M/V Nautilus Explorer dived on the

reefs from April 15 to 20, 2007 to observe the marine life and compare these observations with those reported

by the Connie Limbaugh (Scripps) expeditions in 1956 and 1958. Commencing in 2010, the Nautilus

Explorer will be running diving expeditions from Cabo San Lucas via Socorro Islandevery spring.

During the night of February 10, 2010, the Sichem Osprey, a Maltese chemical tanker, ran aground on its way

from the Panama Canalto South Korea. The 170-metre (560 ft) ship contained xylene, a clear, flammable

volatile liquid commonly used as a solvent in rubber, leather and the printing industries. All 19 crew members

were reported safe, and the vessel reported no leaks.[29][30] The vessel was refloated on March 6[31] and returned

to service.[32]

In mid-March 2012, the crew from The Clipperton Project [33] noted the widespread presence of trash,

particularly on the northeast shore and around the Rock. Debris including plastic bottles and containers create

a potentially harmful environment to its flora and fauna. This trash is common to only two beaches (North East

and South West) and the rest of the island is fairly clean. Other trash has been left over after the occupation by

the Americans in 1944-45, the French in 1966-69, and the 2008 scientific expedition. The

videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK6aWsjFG7U shows that most beaches were clean on January 2012.

Amateur radio DX-peditions[edit source | editbeta]

The island has long been an attractive destination for amateur radio groups, due to its remoteness, difficulty of

landing, permit requirements, romantic history, and interesting environment. While some radio operation was

done ancillary to other expeditions, major DXpeditions include FO0XB (1978), FO0XX (1985), FO0CI (1992),

FO0AAA (2000), and TX5C (2008).

The most recent and most ambitious DX-pedition was the March, 2013 Cordell Expedition using the callsign

TX5K,[34] organized and led by Dr Robert Schmieder. As with previous Cordell Expeditions,[35] the Clipperton

project combined radio operations with selected scientific investigations. The team of 24 radio operators made

more than 114,000 contacts, breaking the previous record of 75,000. The activity included extensive operation

on 6 meters, including EME (Earth-Moon-Earth, or moonbounce) contacts, the first from Clipperton. A notable

accomplishment was the use of DXA, a real-time satellite-based online graphic radio log web page that allowed

anyone anywhere with a browser to see the radio activity updated each minute. Scientific work carried out

during the expedition included the first collection and identification of foraminifera, and extensive aerial imaging

of the island using kite-borne cameras. The team included two scientists from the University of Tahiti and a TV

crew from the French TV channel Thalassa."