A Juan Fernández Islands occurs as sparsely inhabited island class action in the South Pacific Ocean, situated astir 667 klick off a coast of Chile, and is composed of many volcanic islands:

Robinson Crusoe and its surrounding islets Juananga, (Islote Juananga) Robinson Crusoe () (also referred to as Islthe Más a Tierra), placed nighest to the mainland of continental South America Santa Clara () (Isla Santa Clara), an islet placed One kilometer southwest of Robinson Crusoe Alejandro Selkirk () (also referred to as Isla Más Afuera), 181 klick more west.

A islands come in a main known for with been the residence to the sailor Alexander Selkirk for four years, which fact inspired a novel Robinson Crusoe. A islands own an front yard of 181 km², of which 93 km² come taken higher by Robinson Crusoe (together sustaining Santa Clara), & 33 km² by Alexander Selkirk. A people is 633 (tons in Robinson Crusoe), of people 598 reside in the capital, San Juan Bautista, on Cumberland Bay on the to the north coast of the island (2002 nose count).

A archipelago administratively belongs to Region of Valparaíso, and further specifically forms one of a nine municipalities of the province of Valparaíso.

History
A archipelago was found by fall upon November 22 1574, by the Spanish sailor Juan Fernández, who was sailing between Peru and Valparaíso and deviated from his plotted course. He known as a islands Más Afuera, Más the Tierra, & Islote delaware Santa Clara.

In the 17th and 18th century it was used as an hide-hideaway for pirates.

Inside 1966 the Chilean government renamed Islthe Más Afuera to Alejandro Selkirk and Isla Más a Tierra to Robinson Crusoe, sequentially to promote touristry. Incidentally, Selkirk never placed foot in Más Afuerthe, sole in Más a Tierra.

Geology

A islands come volcanic in origin, and were created by the hotspot in the earth's mantle that broke through the Nazca Plate to form a islands, which were so carried eastbound off a hot spot when a Nazca Shell subducts under the South American continent. Radiometric dating indicates that Santa Clara is the oldest of the islands, 5.8 million years old, followed by Robinson Crusoe, Three.8-Four.Two million years old, & Alexander Selkirk, One.0-Two.Four million years old. Alexander Selkirk is the largest of the islands, at L sq kilometre; its greatest peak is Los Innocentes at 1319 meters. Robinson Crusoe is 48 sq kilometer, & a greatest peak, El Yunque, is 916 meters. Santa Clara is Two.Deuce sq kilometer, & reaches 350 meters.

Climate

A islands have a semitropical climate, influenced per cold Humboldt Current which flows northward along a South U.s. coast east of a islands, & the sou'-east trade. A temperature ranges from either Three-34ºC, by having an annual mean of Fifteen.4ºC. Higher elevations come typically cooler, using occasional frosts in Robinson Crusoe. Rain is higher in a wintertime months, & varies by using elevation & exposure; elevations above Five hundred meters own household budget nearly every day rain, when the american, leeward side of Robinson Crusoe & Santa Clara come quite dry. Typical annual rain is 1081 millimetre, varying from either 318 to 1698 millimetre season to season. Good deal of the variability inside rain depends on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

Ecology

the Juan Fernández islands come page to a high percentage of uncommon & endemic plants & creature, and come recognized as a distinct ecoregion. A volcanic origin & remote location of a islands intended that the lslands' flora & animal got to email a archipelago from either far through a sea; following, a isl& has comparatively couple of plants and super couple creature. A nearest relatives of the archipelago's plants & animate being come detected in the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregions of southern South America, including the Valdivian temperate rain forests, Magellanic subpolar forests, and Desventuradas Islands.

Flora

There are 209 native mintage of vascular plants in the Juan Fernandez Islands, approximately 150 of which are then flowering plants, and Fifty come ferns. 126 mintage, or even 62 percent, come forearm, by using Twelve indigenous genera and one indigenous family, Lactoridaceae. Several plants come characteristic of the Antarctic flora, and come related to plants discovered around southern South America, New Zealand and Australia.

Vegetation zones typically correspond to elevation, by owning grasslands & shrublands at moo elevations, tall & montane forests at middle elevations, & shrublands at a greatest elevations. Them independent islands keep close at hand somewhat distinct plant communities.

Alexander Selkirk is mostly covered sustaining grassland from either 0-400 meters, interspersed by having wooded ravines (quebradas), house to dry forests of Myrceugenia and Fagara. from either either 400 to 600 meters come moo montane forests, sustaining upper montane outdoors from 600 to 950 meters. A treeline is at about 950 meters, above which is alpine shrubl& and grassland, dominated by moderate Magellanic vegetation such as Acaena, Dicksonia, Drimys, Empetrum, Gunnera, Myrteola, Pernettya, and Ugni.

In Robinson Crusoe, grasslands predominate from either either either either 0-100 meters; introduced bush from 100-300 meters; tall forests from 300-500 meters; montane forests from 500-700 meters, using heavy tree handle of Cuminia, Fagara, and Rhaphithamnus; tree fern forests from 700-750 meters, & brushwood forests above 750 meters. Santa Clara is covered using grassland.

3 autochthonal mintage dominate a tall & moo montane forests of the archipelago, Drimys confertifolia on each independent islands, Myrceugenia fernandeziana on Robinson Crusoe, & M. schulzei in Alexander Selkirk. Autochthonal tree fern mintage of southern hemisphere genus Dicksonia (D. berteriana in Robinson Crusoe & D. externa in Alexander Selkirk) & a autochthonic genus Thyrsopteris (T. elegans) come a predominant coinage in the tree-fern forests. An endemic metal money of sandalwood, Santalum fernandezianum, was overexploited for its fragrant wood, has not been seen since 1908, & is believed out.

Fauna

A Juan Fernández Islands have a super limited animal, sustaining there is no native mammals, reptiles, or amphibians. Seventeen l& and sea-seafowl coinage breed on the islands. A isl& has tierce autochthonal bird mintage, and 2 autochthonic race. Robinson Crusoe Isl& is at home to an endemic and endangered hummingbird, the Juan Fernández Firecrown (Sephanoides fernandensis). This big hummingbird, astir Xi cm (Fivesome around) hanker, is thought to total just astir Five hundred people. A more autochthonal bird coinage come a rayadito (Aphrastura masafuerae) of Robinson Crusoe and a Juan Fernández tit-tyrant (Anairetes fernandezianus).

A Juan Fernandez Fur Seal (Arctocephalus philippii) lives on the islands. This metal money was about annihilated around the sixteenth to nineteenth century, however it was rediscovered in 1965. The nose count within 1970 indicated astir 750 fur seals present in the Archipelago. Merely deuce were sighted on the Desventuradas Islands. A actual people of a Desventuradas can be higher, because the coinage tends to hide inside sea coffeehouse. There seems to become the annually people increase of 16-17%.