Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, at latitude 37°S, longitude 12°W. It is a dependency of St. Helena (United Kingdom), from which it is 2,000 km distant. In 1961, a volcanic eruption on the island resulted in the bulk of the population (a few hundred people) being evacuated to Britain, though most have since returned.
Residents of the island are known as Tristanians.
Geography
The name "Tristan da Cunha" is also used for the archipelago, which consists of
The main island is quite mountainous; the only flat area contains the town of Edinburgh. The main peak (2,010 m) is covered by snow in winter.
It is one of the nesting places of wandering albatrosses.
Population
There are around 300 inhabitants, all carrying one of seven surnames, though surnames are not used in practice. They speak English and are Anglicans (there are two parishes). There are some health problems because of endogamy, including asthma and glaucoma. Almost all the inhabitants work for the local government. The islands are largely self-sufficient. A ship arrives every 3 or 4 months with supplies and news from the exterior.
There is no airport and only a small fishing port.
There is no television, but TV sets are used to watch videotapes, though there is no video rental service. There are no newspapers.
There is one school, one hospital, one post office, one museum, one cafe, one pub and one swimming pool.
After the age of 16, those who want can continue studies in Britain.
As of 2003, there are no permissions for establishment of foreigners.
History of Tristan da Cunha
The archipelago's main source of foreign income is selling stamps to stamp collectors. For this reason, TA and TAA have an exceptional reservation under ISO 3166-1 on behalf of the UPU to represent Tristan da Cunha. Another source of income is the fishing of lobsters for export to Japan and the United States.
External links
- [1] History
- [2] Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic Ocean, put together by the former British administrator. Includes info on visiting
- [3] Personal travelogue of a visit to Tristan
- [4] The Longboats of Tristan
- [5] Many photos
- [6] Many links
- [7] General background, some photos, great bibliography
- [8] an even more complete bibliography
- [9] The Tristan Yahoo! Group
Referenced By
Atlantic Ocean | British Crown Colony | British Crown Overseas Dependencies | British Empire | British colonial period | Colonies | Colonized | Colony | Crown Colony | Crown colonies | Dependencies | Dependendent area | Dependent territories of the United Kingdom | Diomedea exulans | European Union Member States | Geography of Saint Helena | Great Shearwater | Greater Shearwater | History of Tristan da Cunha | ISO 3166-1:SH | ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 | ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | ISO two-letter country codes | Inaccessible Island Rail | Island | IslandS | List of United Kingdom-related topics | List of United Kingdom topics | List of countries by population density | List of dependent areas | List of dependent territories | List of entities that have issued postage stamps | List of volcanoes | North Atlantic | North Atlantic Ocean | Overseas territories | Overseas territory | Pelagodroma | Politics of Saint Helena | Portugese Empire | Portuguese Empire | Saint Helena | Saint Helena/Geography | Saint Helena/Government | Saint Helena/Transportation | St. Helena | St Helena | The Portuguese Empire | Transportation on Saint Helena | Tristão da Cunha | UK overseas territory | UK topics | United Kingdom/Basic Topics | United Kingdom/Dependent territories | Wandering Albatross | White-faced Storm-Petrel
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