- Vostok Island
Vostok Island also known as Staver Island, is an uninhabited coral island in the central
Pacific Ocean , part of theLine Islands belonging toKiribati . Other names for the island include "Anne Island", "Bostock Island", "Leavitts Island", "Reaper Island", "Wostock Island" or "Wostok Island".Geography, flora and fauna
Vostok is located at coord|10|06|S|152|23|W |region:KI_type:isle_scale:10000000 |display=title,inline,fact|date=October 2008 and covers a land area of 24 hectares. Its nearest neighbors are
Flint Island , 158 km south-southeast;Caroline Atoll , 230 km to the east; andMalden Island , 709 km north-northwest. It is 1.3 km in length, and is triangular-shaped.Beaches on the island range between 25 and 50 meters wide, composed of coral sand and rubble. There is no lagoon or fresh water on the island, and no known freshwater lens. [ http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wetlands/vostok_i.htm. Retrieved on
10 July 2008 .] Vostok's major portion is covered with a pure stand of "Psionia" trees rooted in moist peat soil one meter thick. These trees, with heights of up to 30 meters, grow so densely that no other plants can grow beneath them. The herbs "Boerhavia repens" and "Sesuvium portulac"astrum round out the known vegetation. [ http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wetlands/vostok_i.htm. Retrieved on10 July 2008 .]An attempt to plant coconut seedlings on Vostok in 1922 failed, and unlike the nearby islands of Caroline and Flint, no coconut palms are known to exist on the island today.
A color photo of Vostok Island may be seen [http://www.theoceanadventure.com/NemoIE03/DAY19Nemo.html here] .
Noteworthy fauna includes several species of seabirds, including the
Red-footed Booby ("Sula s"ula),Great Frigatebird ("Fregata minor"),Lesser Frigatebird ("F. ariel"),Black Noddy ("Anous minutus"),White Tern ("Gygis alba"),Masked Booby ("Sula dacty"latra),Brown Booby ("S. leucogaster") andBrown Noddy ("Anous stolidus"). ThePolynesian Rat and the Azure-tailedSkink ("Emoia cyanura"), togther withCoconut Crab s andGreen Turtle s, completes the known land fauna. [http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wetlands/vostok_i.htm. Retrieved on10 July 2008 .]History
First sighted in
1820 by theRussia n explorerFabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen , who named the island for his ship ("Vostok" means "East" in Russian). Vostok was claimed under theGuano Act of 1856 , but was never mined for phosphate. It is unknown whether the island has ever been inhabited at all, though the presence of rats suggests that ancient Polynesians might have visited there, at least. No evidence of permanent settlement has ever been discovered.Vostok formed part of the British
Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony , until becoming a part of newly-independent Kiribati in 1979. American claims on the island were vacated in theTreaty of Tarawa in that same year.Vostok Island is currently designated as the "Vostok Island Wildlife Sanctuary". Its isolated nature means it is rarely visited, save by the occasional scientist or yachter. Landing is said to be difficult, and no harbor or anchorage exists. [http://www.janeresture.com/kiribati_line/vostok.htm. Retrieved on
10 July 2008 .]Notes
External links
* [http://www.janeresture.com/kiribati_line/vostok.htm Article at Jane's Oceania Home Page] - includes a sketch map
* [http://www.theoceanadventure.com/NemoIE03/DAY19Nemo.html Article at Looking For Nemo Expedition's site] - includes photo and sketch map
* [http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/line/vostok.htm Oceandots - Vostok Island] - satellite photograph
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