Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean 600km (375 miles) east of Australia. The island is in the state of New South Wales, Australia. [1] - maps
- Location: 31.5ºS, 159.1ºE
- Highest Point: Mount Gower, 875m (2870 feet)
- Area: 100 km² (100 sq miles)
- Population: 350 permanent residents. Tourists are restricted to 400 at any one time.
Much of the island is a reserve: Lord Howe Island Marine Park.
Geology
Lord Howe island is crescent-shaped, about 10km long and 1.5 km wide. It is an eroded remnant of a 6.9 million-year-old shield volcano. A coral reef and lagoon are protected inside the crescent-shape of the island. The Lord Howe seamount chain, defined by coral-capped guyots, continues to the north for 1000km (600 miles) and is probably the result of the Australian plate moving northward over a stationary hotspot (see plate tectonics).
Mount Lidgbird (777m, 2548 feet) and Mount Gower (875m, 2870 feet) dominate the south end of the island. They are both made of basalt rock, remnants of lava flows that once filled a large volcanic caldera. These lava flows occurred 6.4 million years ago, and were the last volcanic events on the island, which has subsequently eroded to what remains today.
Ball's Pyramid is a rocky islet located 16km (10 miles) south of Lord Howe Island, and also the remnant of an eroded volcano. It is the largest of several volcanic stacks that form islets in the area.
Lord Howe has a coral reef; at 31deg. S. this is the most southerly coral reef in the world.
Ecology
Lord Howe island is a distinct terrestrial ecoregion, known as the Lord Howe Island subtropical forests. It is part of the Australasia ecozone, and shares many biotic affinities with Australia, New Guinea, and New Caledonia. Lord Howe Island was never part of a continent, and all of its flora and fauna colonized the island from across the sea. Almost half of the island's native plants are endemic. One of the best known is Howea, an endemic genus of palms (Arecaceae) that are commonly known as kentia palms and make handsome houseplants.
The island has only one native mammal (a bat), but over a hundred bird species inhabit the islands, including several endemic bird species, including the Lord Howe Island Rail (Gallirallus sylvestris) and the Lord Howe Island White-eye (Zosterops tephropleurus). Another rail, the Lord Howe Island Swamphen or White Gallinule (Porphyrio albus) became extinct, as did the Lord Howe Gerygone (Gerygone insularis) the Robust White-eye (Zosterops strenuus), and subspecies of the White-throated pigeon (Columba vitiensis godmanae) and Red-fronted Parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae); it is likely that these these birds fell prey to introduced rats. Other birds endemic to the island include subspecies of the Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis), Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis), and Pied Currawong (Stepera graculina). Many seabirds also frequent the island.
About 10 percent of Lord Howe Island's forests have been cleared for agriculture, and another 20 percent has been disturbed by domestic cattle and feral sheep, goats, and pigs. Despite a large number of introduced species that harm Lord Howe's native flora and fauna, goats have recently been eliminated from the island, feral pig population has been reduced, and there are ongoing efforts to control rats, mice, and introduced plants.
The island was declared a World Heritage Site in 1982, in recognition of its unique beauty and biodiversity.
History
Lord Howe Island was discovered in February 1788 by H.M.S Supply, commanded by Lieutenant Lidgbird Ball, who was on his way to Norfolk Island with convicts to start a settlement there. One of the mountains on the island is named after him. First settlement was in 1833 with the island supplying passing ships with food and water. Coconut palm seeding started about 1878 and eventually became the island's major industry, together with tourism.