The Chincha Islands () are a group of three small

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

s off the southwest coast of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, to which they belong, near the town of Pisco. Since pre-

Incan The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilisation rose fr ...

times they were of interest for their extensive

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

deposits, but the supplies were mostly exhausted by 1874.

Geography

FMIB 42121 Very small portion of a flock of cormorants on the south island of the Chinchas

The largest of the islands, ''Isla Chincha Norte'' (English:North Chincha Island), is long and up to wide, and rises to a height of . ''Isla Chincha Centro'' (English:Center Chincha Island) is almost the same size as its neighbour to the north, while ''Isla Chincha Sur'' (English:South Chincha Island) is half the size of its neighbours. The islands are mostly

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

, and bordered with cliffs on all sides, upon which great numbers of

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s nest.

History

The Chincha Islands were once the residence of the Chincha people, but only a few remains are to be found today. Peru began the export of guano in 1840.

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, which did not recognize Peru's independence until 1879 and desired the guano profits, occupied the islands in April 1864, setting off the

Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War (), was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia from 1865 to 1879. The conflict began with Spain's seiz ...

(1864–1866).

In literature

The Chincha Islands were featured in an 1854 book by the American author

George Washington Peck George Washington Peck (June 4, 1818 – June 30, 1905) was a United States representative from the state of Michigan. Biography Peck was born in New York City and pursued classical studies, attending Yale College and studying law in New York ...

titled ''Melbourne, and the Chincha Islands: With Sketches of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, and a Voyage Round the World''. The book chronicled Peck's time spent in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, as well as the Chincha Islands. Chapter L of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

's novel ''

Roughing It ''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, following his first travel book '' The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twain's m ...

'' also mentions the Chincha Islands. In the novel, Captain Ned Blakely, a San Francisco sea captain, sails to the Chincha Islands in command of a guano ship.

References

External links

Islas Chincha (1865 map)Islas Chincha
{{Authority control Pacific islands of Peru Guano trade Landforms of the Department of Ica

Geography

History

In literature

See also

References

External links