REASONS WHY THE ASCENSION ISLAND IS A BEAUTIFUL GEOGRAPHICAL LOGIC FAIL

SMALL ISLAND, BIG CLIMATE

Few, if any, places in the world have the bizarre capability to

be both hot and cold at the same time. Enter Ascension:

a tiny hunk of volcanic rock atop a mid-Atlantic undersea

volcano which rose from the ocean about a million years ago

child’s play, geologically speaking. Average temperatures

at sea level average 72-88°F (22 to 31°C) and the average

mercury at the highest point ranges from 9-11°F (-11 to -13°C).

THE FOOD SOURCE WIPES OUT ITS FOOD SOURCE

Aiming to make the island useful to passing mariners, the

Portuguese (the first to discover the island) released goats

around the island. When they came back, they found the

goats had eaten many of the local species to extinction.

U.K. TERRITORY

Ascension is technically a territory of the United Kingdom.

When the Brits landed on the island in 1815, it was uninhabited.

The island may not have been settled due to its geographical

remoteness and its volcanic activity, expected as

recently as the 1500’s.

THE BRITS DEFEND THE RESCUE OF NAPOLEON

Napoleon Bonaparte was famously exiled to the nearby island of

St. Helena, 700 miles (1,127 kms) to the southeast. To prevent

the French from rescuing him, the British built a fort on

Ascension in 1815.

THE LONGEST RUNWAY IN THE WORLD

Ascension’s runway was formerly the longest in the world,

made to fit a potential emergency landing of the now

decommissioned space shuttles. The runway is still operated

by the U.S. Air Force and access is only granted in

limited circumstances to Great Britain.

THE ISLAND WHERE NOBODY IS FROM

Though around 800 people live on Ascension, nobody is

considered a resident. Based on a U.K. law restricting the

right of abode, these British citizens are classified as

temporary visitors.

HOW TO ENTER ASCENSION

Entering Ascension Island requires the written permission of the

representative of the Queen of England, known as the

Administrator.

DARWIN VISITED THE ISLAND

Charles Darwin and the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at

Kew, Joseph Hooker, visited the island in 1836 and 1843,

respectively, and attempted to make it habitable. Hooker

planted trees across the summit of Green Mountain to trap

moisture and provide a water supply for the garrison’s troops.

AN ECOLOGICAL DISASTER

Though their plan worked, the greening of Ascension is today

regarded as an ecological disaster. Though plenty of trees

and shrubs grow on the formerly desolate rocky peaks, the

island lacks the complex inter-relationships of a functioning

ecosystem. Even worse, nearly all of the native species

are going extinct.