Life on Tristan da Cunha – the World's Most Remote Inhabited Island
Watch the three-part Britain's Treasure Islands documentary series on BBC FOUR, starting Tue 12 Apr 2016 21:00. (repeated Wed 13 Apr 2016 20:00).
This mini-documentary follows Stewart McPherson's journey to Tristan da Cunha, the most remote inhabited island in the world. We meet the Tristanians and an interview with ex-chief islander Harold Green reveals what life is like in Tristan's only settlement, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas.
Please note: although complementary to the BBC FOUR series, the 40 short mini-documentaries are not commissioned or editorially overseen by BBC.
BRITAIN'S TREASURE ISLANDS - MINI-DOCUMENTARIES
Introduction
Overview of the UK Overseas Territories
Filming the Britain’s Treasure Islands TV documentary series
Stewart McPherson’s lecture at the Royal Geographical Society
Mini-documentaries about each of the UK Overseas Territories
Ascension Island – wildlife and heritage
Saint Helena – wildlife and heritage
Tristan da Cunha – wildlife and heritage
Falkland Islands – wildlife and heritage
South Georgia – wildlife and heritage
British Antarctic Territory – wildlife and heritage
British Indian Ocean Territory – wildlife and heritage
Pitcairn Islands – wildlife and heritage
Bermuda – wildlife and heritage
Cayman Islands – wildlife and heritage
British Virgin Islands – wildlife and heritage
Montserrat – wildlife and heritage
Anguilla – wildlife and heritage
Turks and Caicos Islands – wildlife and heritage
Akrotiri and Dhekelia – wildlife and heritage
Gibraltar – wildlife and heritage
Mini-documentaries about specific subjects on particular UK Overseas Territories
Ascension Island – natives and aliens
Ascension Island – supplying the garrison
Saint Helena – wirebird conservation
Saint Helena – plant conservation
Life on Tristan da Cunha – the World’s Most Remote Inhabited Island
Tristan da Cunha – the Monster Mice of Gough Island
Falkland Islands – Jimmy the ex-whaler
British Indian Ocean Territory – coconut crabs
British Indian Ocean Territory – seabirds
British Indian Ocean Territory – underwater
Pitcairn Islands – Henderson Island’s wildlife
Life on Pitcairn Island – home of the descendants of the mutineers from HMS Bounty
Mini-documentaries about systematic wildlife groups across all of the UK Overseas Territories
Terrestrial Invertebrates of the UK Overseas Territories
Amphibians and Reptiles of the UK Overseas Territories
Plants of the UK Overseas Territories
Mammals of the UK Overseas Territories
Birds of the UK Overseas Territories
Marine Life of the UK Overseas Territories
Overview mini-documentaries
Conservation Lessons of the UKOTs
Islands of Evolution
Overview of the Britain’s Treasure Islands book
Shipping 5,000 books to all UK secondary schools COMING SOON
Overview of Britain’s Treasure Islands TV documentary series
Ascension Island – supplying the garrison
Watch the three-part Britain's Treasure Islands documentary series on BBC FOUR, starting Tue 12 Apr 2016 21:00. (repeated Wed 13 Apr 2016 20:00).
This mini-documentary follows the story of Ascension Island, a UK Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Ascension is a small, desolate volcanic island, yet it proved essential in the 19th century as an important victualing station for ships rounding the capes. The British garrisoned the island, built large forts and relied on the strongholds with vital supplies that could make or break round the world voyages. After Charles Darwin and Joseph Hooker visited the island, the two naturalists developed a radical idea - to create a man-made rainforest on Ascension's tallest cinder to create drinking water for the garrisoned soldiers. The experiment was a spectacular success, and by the 1870s, the dry volcanic desert had been transformed into a lush rainforest. We explore the legacy of the experiment, and the surprising use of planted Norfolk Island pines.
Please note: although complementary to the BBC FOUR series, the 40 short mini-documentaries are not commissioned or editorially overseen by BBC.
BRITAIN'S TREASURE ISLANDS - MINI-DOCUMENTARIES
Introduction
Overview of the UK Overseas Territories
Filming the Britain’s Treasure Islands TV documentary series
Stewart McPherson’s lecture at the Royal Geographical Society
Mini-documentaries about each of the UK Overseas Territories
Ascension Island – wildlife and heritage
Saint Helena – wildlife and heritage
Tristan da Cunha – wildlife and heritage
Falkland Islands – wildlife and heritage
South Georgia – wildlife and heritage
British Antarctic Territory – wildlife and heritage
British Indian Ocean Territory – wildlife and heritage
Pitcairn Islands – wildlife and heritage
Bermuda – wildlife and heritage
Cayman Islands – wildlife and heritage
British Virgin Islands – wildlife and heritage
Montserrat – wildlife and heritage
Anguilla – wildlife and heritage
Turks and Caicos Islands – wildlife and heritage
Akrotiri and Dhekelia – wildlife and heritage
Gibraltar – wildlife and heritage
Mini-documentaries about specific subjects on particular UK Overseas Territories
Ascension Island – natives and aliens
Ascension Island – supplying the garrison
Saint Helena – wirebird conservation
Saint Helena – plant conservation
Life on Tristan da Cunha – the World’s Most Remote Inhabited Island
Tristan da Cunha – the Monster Mice of Gough Island
Falkland Islands – Jimmy the ex-whaler
British Indian Ocean Territory – coconut crabs
British Indian Ocean Territory – seabirds
British Indian Ocean Territory – underwater
Pitcairn Islands – Henderson Island’s wildlife
Life on Pitcairn Island – home of the descendants of the mutineers from HMS Bounty
Mini-documentaries about systematic wildlife groups across all of the UK Overseas Territories
Terrestrial Invertebrates of the UK Overseas Territories
Amphibians and Reptiles of the UK Overseas Territories
Plants of the UK Overseas Territories
Mammals of the UK Overseas Territories
Birds of the UK Overseas Territories
Marine Life of the UK Overseas Territories
Overview mini-documentaries
Conservation Lessons of the UKOTs
Islands of Evolution
Overview of the Britain’s Treasure Islands book
Shipping 5,000 books to all UK secondary schools COMING SOON
Overview of Britain’s Treasure Islands TV documentary series
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) from the coast of Africa and 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 1,300 kilometres (800 mi) to the southeast. The territory also includes the remotest populated archipelago on Earth, the sparsely populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago, some 3,730 kilometres (2,300 mi) to the south (about thirty degrees of latitude) and about halfway to the Antarctic Circle.
The island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day, and is located at 7°56′S 14°22′W, about as far south of the equator as tropical Venezuela is to its north. Historically, it has played a role as an important safe haven and coaling station to mariners and for commercial airliners during the days of international air travel by flying boats and during World War II was an important naval and air station, especially providing antisubmarine warfare bases in the Battle of the Atlantic and throughout the war. Ascension Island was garrisoned by the British Admiralty from 22 October 1815 to 1922.
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Ascension Island | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Ascension Island
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56' south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) from the coast of Africa and 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) from the coast of Brazil. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 1,300 kilometres (800 mi) to the southeast. The territory also includes the sparsely-populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago, some 3,730 kilometres (2,300 mi) to the south, about halfway to the Antarctic Circle.
The island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day. It was an important safe haven and coaling station to mariners and for commercial airliners during the days of international air travel by flying boats. During World War II it was an important naval and air station, especially providing antisubmarine warfare bases in the Battle of the Atlantic. Ascension Island was garrisoned by the British Admiralty from 22 October 1815 to 1922.
The island is the location of RAF Ascension Island, which is a Royal Air Force station, a European Space Agency rocket tracking station, an Anglo-American signals intelligence facility and the BBC World Service Atlantic Relay Station. The island was used extensively as a staging point by the British military during the Falklands War. Ascension Island hosts one of four ground antennas (others are on Kwajalein Island, Diego Garcia, and Cape Canaveral) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational system. NASA operates a Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) on Ascension Island for tracking orbital debris, which is potentially hazardous to operating spacecraft and astronauts, at a facility called the John Africano NASA/AFRL Orbital Debris Observatory.
Ascension Island | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Ascension Island
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56' south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) from the coast of Africa and 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) from the coast of Brazil. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 1,300 kilometres (800 mi) to the southeast. The territory also includes the sparsely-populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago, some 3,730 kilometres (2,300 mi) to the south, about halfway to the Antarctic Circle.
The island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day. It played a role as an important safe haven and coaling station to mariners and for commercial airliners during the days of international air travel by flying boats. During World War II it was an important naval and air station, especially providing antisubmarine warfare bases in the Battle of the Atlantic. Ascension Island was garrisoned by the British Admiralty from 22 October 1815 to 1922.
The island is the location of RAF Ascension Island, which is a Royal Air Force station, a European Space Agency rocket tracking station, an Anglo-American signals intelligence facility and the BBC World Service Atlantic Relay Station. The island was used extensively as a staging point by the British military during the Falklands War. Ascension Island hosts one of four ground antennas (others are on Kwajalein Island, Diego Garcia, and Cape Canaveral) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational system. NASA operates a Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) on Ascension Island for tracking orbital debris, which is potentially hazardous to operating spacecraft and astronauts, at a facility called the John Africano NASA/AFRL Orbital Debris Observatory.