4- A Geographical Sketch of the Juan Fernandez Islands. 



By 



C. SKOTTSBERG. 



The Juan Fernandez Islands were discovered on the 22nd November, 1574, 

 by the Spanish navigator JUAN FERNANDEZ who called them Las Islas de Santa 

 Cecilia. They consist of two islands, distant from each other, Masatierra with its 

 satellite Santa Clara, and Masafuera. Masatierra lies 360 miles W of Valparaiso, 

 Masafuera 92 miles W of Masatierra. According to the charts the position of the 

 light in Cumberland Bay on Masatierra is 33°37'i5" S. and 78°49'5o" W., and 

 of the summit of Masafuera, 33^46' S. and 8o°46' W. 



The islands are of volcanic origin and considered to be late Tertiary. They 

 show no signs of recent activity, but a submarine eruption near Pta Bacalao in 

 Masatierra is reported by Sutclifife to have occurred in 1835, and another E of 

 this island by Goll in 1839 (Bruggen pp. 326, 332). Sutclifife (i, Plate p. 387) 

 published a drawing of the eruption; the landscape is a pure flight of fancy. 

 Some visitors have wanted to recognize a number of extinct craters. To this ques- 

 tion I shall return later. When Ulloa thought that he saw flames bursting from 

 the summit of Mt. Yunque, he certainly made a mistake. 



No geographer has, as far as I know, visited the islands, but many notes on 

 their configuration and topography are found in the narratives of early naviga- 

 tors as well as in the official reports to the Oficina Hidrografica in Valparaiso 

 by the Commanders of surveying ships. Certain observations on the former dis- 

 tribution of the forests were referred to in an earlier paper (Skottsberg 3). Many 

 popular descriptions of the nature and life on Masatierra have appeared (see Bib- 

 liography), some also paying attention to Masafuera. The latest, by JORGE Guz- 

 man Parada, contains much useful material and will often be referred to here. 



Comments on some earlier descriptions and maps of Masatierra. 



The most interesting account of this island from the i8th century is found 

 in Walter's narrative of Captain (later Lord) Anson's voyage. The illustrations 

 are, even if not quite so accurate as the author thinks, vastly superior to the 

 contemporaneous ones in Ulloa's work. Plate XIV is a prospect from ¥., including 

 Santa Clara (called. Goat I.), the rock El Verdugo (Monkey Key) and part of 

 the north coast of Masatierra, seen under almost right angle and with the con- 

 spicuous mountains in correct position. Plate XV is a map, not bad in its main 



6-537351 The Nat. Hist, of Juan Fernandez and Easter Isl. Vol. i. 



