Dassen Island is an uninhabited

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

n island in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. It is situated about west of Yzerfontein and north of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. The flat and low-lying

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

measures about long northwest-southeast and wide, with an area of . It is a proclaimed

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

. In Dutch "das", the plural being "dassen", is a badger ( Meles meles). In Dutch/Afrikaans the word "dassie" means "rock-hyrax" or "rock-badger" and the island is named after the colonies of hyraxes ( Procavia capensis) encountered there by the discoverers. Named Ilha Branca ('white island') by the early Portuguese mariners, it was renamed Elizabeth Eiland by

Joris van Spilbergen Joris van Spilbergen (1568 in Antwerp – January 31, 1620 in Bergen op Zoom) was a Dutch naval officer. Joris van Spilbergen was born in Antwerp in 1568. His first major expedition was in 1596, when he sailed to Africa. He then left for As ...

in 1601. The form Dasseneiland (Dutch/Afrikaans) is preferred for official purposes. It was also occasionally referred to as Penguin Island. The island is underpinned by a fine-grained tourmaline

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

, with a few zones of biotite granite. The intrusive rocks (late Precambrian) are in part covered by sand. Along much of the shoreline large, rounded boulders protrude from the sand to heights just above the high water mark. Although temporary pans form during the wet season (winter) in the interior, there is in general little fresh water on the island. Except on its eastern side, Dassen Island is surrounded by

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock ...

s. Many ships have been shipwrecked here.

African penguin colony

Rocky paths on the island have been worn by generations of penguins coming ashore to roost and nest. The island is home to a breeding colony of African Penguin which is in decline. In the 1950s it was home to tens of thousands of the animals. In 1975 the population was an estimate 60,000 birds. In the year 2000, the population was an estimated 56,000. The population has been adversely impacted by the commercial exploitation of their eggs, collection of guano (which the birds require to burrow in), and the overfishing of prey species (including pilchard). Dassen Island is also on a major shipping route, and in 1975, roughly 650 oil tankers passed by each month. Oil pollution stemming from bilge dumping and occasional major oil spills (such as the MV Treasure oil spill) have also impacted the population. FMIB 36499 Jackass Penguins on Dassen Island.jpeg,

African penguin The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffe ...

(''Spheniscus demersus''). AMH-5099-NA Map of Dassen Island.jpg, Nautical chart s. XVII

External links

Dassen Island Images and Animals

References

{{reflist Uninhabited islands of South Africa Atlantic islands of South Africa Ramsar sites in South Africa Penguin colonies