Alejandro_selkirk_island

A map showing the Juan Fernández Islands, Alejandro Selkirk Island is on the left.

Alejandro Selkirk Island, previously known as Isla Más Afuera, is the second largest and most westernly island of the Juan Fernández Islands. It is situated 181 km west of Robinson Crusoe Island.

In 1966, the Chilean government renamed Isla Más Afuera to Alejandro Selkirk Island, with Isla Más a Tierra becoming Robinson Crusoe Island. Alexander Selkirk was a Scottish sailor who was marooned on Robinson Crusoe Island (then uninhabited) for four years. His survival inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe.Dieter Mueller-Dombois; Francis Raymond Fosberg (1998). Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands. Springer, 610. ISBN 0387983139. 

Dating of the rocks on the island show that it is the youngest of the Juan Fernández Islands at an age between 1 or 2 million years old. Due to its age, the island has had a little erosion. The highest point on the island is 1,329 metres which is achieved by Cerro de Los Inocentes. The coastal cliffs are up to 1,000 m tall. The island is marked by deep ravines and ridges.

The Juan Fernández fur seal is known to have existed during the late-1600s on the island with the population of the seals on Alejandro Selkirk Island and Robinson Crusoe Island believed to be in excess of four million by the late 17th century. A census of 1797 estimated a population 2-3 million fur seals.Ronald M. Nowak (1999). Walker\'s Mammals of the World. JHU Press, 846. ISBN 0801857899.  The species was hunted to near extinction by the 1800s and was thought to be extinct for 100 years until 200 were found on the island in 1965. Since then, the population has grown at a steady rate of 15-20% every year.A. Rus Hoelzel (2002). Marine Mammal Biology: An Evolutionary Approach. Blackwell Publishing, 330. ISBN 0632052325. 

References

Coordinates: 33°45′04″S, 80°47′00″W

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