The Juan Fernández Islands (Spanish: Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited island group reliant on tourism and fishing in the South Pacific Ocean, situated about 600 km (324 nmi; 373 mi) off the coast of Chile, and is composed of three main volcanic islands; Robinson Crusoe Island, Alejandro Selkirk Island and Santa Clara Island, the first two being formerly called Más a Tierra and Más Afuera respectively.
The islands are mainly known for having been the home to the marooned sailor Alexander Selkirk for four years, which may have inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe. The islands have an area of 181 km2 (70 sq mi), of which 93 km2 (36 sq mi) are taken up by Robinson Crusoe (together with Santa Clara), and 33 km2 (13 sq mi) by Alexander Selkirk.
The population of the archipelago is 633 (all on Robinson Crusoe); of those 598 reside in the capital, San Juan Bautista, on Cumberland Bay on the north coast of the island (2002 census). The islands belong administratively to Chile's Valparaíso Region (which also includes Easter Island), and more specifically form one of the nine communes of Valparaíso Province named Juan Fernández.
Read more about Juan Fernández Islands: Geography, Climate, Ecology, History, Government, Demographics
Famous quotes containing the words juan and/or islands:
“Is that the Craig Jurgesen that Teddy Roosevelt gave you?... And you used it at San Juan Hill defending liberty. Now you want to destroy it.”
—Laurence Stallings (1894–1968)
“Consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints, bristling with forts like chestnut-burs, or Echinidæ, yet the police will not let a couple of Irishmen have a private sparring- match on one of them, as it is a government monopoly; all the great seaports are in a boxing attitude, and you must sail prudently between two tiers of stony knuckles before you come to feel the warmth of their breasts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)