Tyssen Islands
Tyssen Islands | |
|---|---|
 Location of the Tyssen Islands within the Falkland Islands | |
| Coordinates: 51°53′17″S 59°38′35″W / 51.888°S 59.643°W | |
| Country | Falkland Islands |
| Island group | Falkland Sound |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (FKST) |
| If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively. | |
The Tyssen Islands lie in Falkland Sound, between West Falkland and East Falkland. They lie off Lafonia in East Falkland, and between the Swan Islands and Great Island, Falkland Islands.[1] The group of islands lie 4 miles (6 km) south of the Swan Islands, and have some rocks south-west of the islands which are known as Tyssen Patch which stretch for 6 miles (10 km).[2]
Name
[edit]The islands are named after John Tyssen, a Royal Navy officer who arrived in the Falklands in 1839.[3] The Hispanicized version of the island group is Islotes Tyssen.[4]
Geology
[edit]Islands in the group are; Sandbar Island,[5] North Tyssen,[6] Flat Tyssen, Sandy Island (or Sandy Tyssen), West Tyssen,[7] High Tyssen and Peat Tyssen.[8]
The geology of the islands is the same as the plain low-lying land of Lafonia, which is across the sound to the east.[9] The rocks were laid down during the Mesozoic era and of Jurassic and Triassic origin, being composed of sandstone and mudstone. Strange comments that because the islands are on average 15 metres (49 ft) high, and barely rise above 30 metres (98 ft), they were better suited to farming animals and show "..the influence of man's settlement and stocking more than any other of the Falkland archipelago."[10]
Land use
[edit]Although some of the smaller islands, such as Peat and High Tyssen do not have sheep, Sandbar Island is still used for grazing.
Wildlife
[edit]Sea lions are known to frequent the islands, and in the early 1930s, a survey estimated there to be 1,364 of them.[11] Although a rare species for the Falkland Islands, the Hudsonian godwit has been recorded on Sandy Tyssen island in 2003.[12] Flat Tyssen has had rabbits introduced onto the island at some point in its history, although it is unclear if the population is still extant.[13]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Tyssen Islands: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)". Geographical Names. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- ↑ South America pilot volume II (1 ed.). Washington: Government Print Office. 1916. p. 155. OCLC 156898778.
- ↑ "TYSSEN, JOHN 1811 - 1893". www.falklandsbiographies.org. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ "LAW OF THE SEA (National legislation)" (PDF). www.un.org. 1991. p. 12. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ Tourangeau, Wesley; Sherren, Kate; Delignières, Marilou (December 2019). "'We secured the tussac': Accounts of ecological discovery, exploitation and renewal in the Falkland Islands". People and Nature. 1 (4): 550. Bibcode:2019PeoNa...1..548T. doi:10.1002/pan3.10046.
- ↑ "4th report on seal investigations in the Falkland Islands November 1930 to March 1931" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.fk. p. 39. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ Baylis, Alastair; Poncet, Leiv; Orben, Rachael (2021). "2021 census of southern sea lions and South American fur seals breeding at the Falkland Islands: preliminary results". www.falklands.gov.fk. p. 10. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ Reeves, Mickey; Crofts, Sarah (2015). "A review of the abundance and distribution of Striated Caracaras Phalcoboenus australis on the Falkland Islands" (PDF). falklandsconservation.com. pp. 26, 27. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ Moore, D. M. (1968). "The vascular flora of the Falkland Islands" (PDF). nora.nerc.ac.uk. p. 4. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ Strange, Ian J. (1987). The Falkland Islands and their natural history. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 96. ISBN 0715388339.
- ↑ "4th report on seal investigations in the Falkland Islands November 1930 to March 1931" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.fk. p. 40. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ Black, Andy; Morrison, Sue; Morrison, Mike; Woods, Robin; Henry, Allan (October 2004). "Rare and vagrant birds in the Falkland Islands 2003". The Warrah (4). Falklands Conservation: 18. ISSN 1357-9460.
- ↑ Long, John L. (2003). Introduced mammals of the world: their history, distribution, and influence. Wallingford: CABI Pub. p. 91. ISBN 0-85199-736-8.
