Sandy Point, Tristan da Cunha

Map of Tristan da Cunha main island showing location of Sandy Point in the east.
Northern rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes moseleyi.
Monterey pine, Pinus radiata.

Sandy Point is the easternmost extremity of the island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a distance of about 7 miles (12 km) by sea from the island's only settlement, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. There is a beach of black volcanic sand fringed by low cliffs and a sloping plateau leading up to Tristan's mountainous interior. Its climate is warmer and drier than that of the Settlement, being in the lee of the island's prevailing winds.

A farm was established in the 1950s, and although attempts to grow vegetables were abandoned, the pine plantation and fruit trees of apple, pear, plum and peach make the area unique. The grassy slopes above the cliffs are grazed by sheep and a herd of about 15 beef cattle.[1]

There is a colony of Northern rockhopper penguins (known on the island as pinnamins) at the east end of Sandy Point. The penguins come onshore to breed between August and December, and again for moulting between January and March. Harvesting penguin eggs is a tradition on Tristan da Cunha, but the northern rockhopper is now listed as an endangered species and eggs are no longer collected on the main island.[2][3]

  1. ^ The Tristan da Cunha Website. Sandy Point.
  2. ^ RSPB. Tristan and Nightingale Islands wildlife monitoring manual (p18).
  3. ^ The Tristan da Cunha Website. Penguins.