nPostednon November 22, 2014
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nHowndo you spot little dots of land out in an enormous ocean?
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nManynislands are easily seen because they lie quite close to a continent.nBut the islands that Spanish sailor Juan Fernandez spotted on thisndate in 1574 lie hundreds of miles off the coast of what is nownChile, in South America. n
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Thentruth is, Fernandez probably spotted the islands because of hisnhandy-dandy southward sea route.
Thentruth is, Fernandez probably spotted the islands because of hisnhandy-dandy southward sea route.n
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nYounsee, near the west coast of South America, from Chile to northernnPeru, there is a cold current that runs northward. Fernandez wantednto sail southward, so he went far out, away from the coast – andnthat’s when he spotted the islands.
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Therenare three Juan Fernandez Islands (as the group is now called).nFernandez named the outermost island Mas Afuera, which roughlyntranslates to “Farther Out to Sea,” the innermost island Mas anTierra, which roughly translates to “Closer to Land,” and thenmiddle island Santa Clara (“Saint Claire”). n
Therenare three Juan Fernandez Islands (as the group is now called).nFernandez named the outermost island Mas Afuera, which roughlyntranslates to “Farther Out to Sea,” the innermost island Mas anTierra, which roughly translates to “Closer to Land,” and thenmiddle island Santa Clara (“Saint Claire”). nn
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nFornhundreds of years, the islands were rarely visited by humans othernthan pirates in hiding. In 1703, some privateers (pirates working forntheir country) ran into problems with a leaky ship. One of thensailors, the sailing master named Alexander Selkirk, demanded that henbe put ashore one of those islands (Mas a Tierra)–even though thenisland was completely uninhabited.
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nSelkirknwas indeed put to shore on that island…and marooned there. He livednon that island alone for about four years!
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nLater,nafter Selkirk was rescued and returned to England, he became famousnfor surviving alone for so long. Scholars believed that Selkirk’snexploits were the inspiration for Daniel Dafoe’s famous book RobinsonnCrusoe.
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nActually,nthe name of the book is The Life and Surprising Adventures ofnRobinson Crusoe.
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nBecausenof the fame of that books, the Juan Fernandez Islands were renamed:
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nMas a Tierra (thenisland where Selkirk lived for four years) became Robinson CrusoenIsland.
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nMas Afuera becamenAlejandro Selkirk Island.
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nSanta Clara, however,nremained Santa Clara.
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| Notice that the “fur seals” are not true seals, but are in fact sea lions. (You can tell because they have external ears!) |
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nTherenare very few land animals on the islands, with no native landnmammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Some mammals such as goats andnrats have been brought to the accident either on purpose or onnaccident. (I will leave it to you to guess which was broughtnaccidentally!) The native animals are mostly birds, including somennesting penguins! Also, some fur seals live on the islands. n
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nNowadays,nhowever, some people live on the islands. Alejandro Selkirk is homento around 57 people, and Robinson Crusoe is home to around 843. SantanClara is still uninhabited.
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nTonlearn more about Robinson Crusoe, check out this earlier post.
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nAlsonon this date:
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Astronaut Guy Bluford’s birthday
Astronaut Guy Bluford’s birthday
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nIndependencenDay in Lebanon
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nFantasticnFlyers Day
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nJohnnF. Kennedy Day
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nAnniversarynof the eruption of Mount Saint Helens
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nAnniversarynof the eruption of Mount Saint Helens
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nFamily Volunteer Day
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nPlannahead:
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nNovembern holidays
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nNovembern birthdays
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- Historicaln anniversaries in November
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nDecembern holidays
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nDecembern birthdays
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- Historicaln anniversaries in December
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