Clipperton Island

Not to be confused with Clapperton Island, an island located in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Clipperton

Native name: Île de Clipperton (French)
Clipperton Atoll with lagoon with depths (metres)
Location of Clipperton Island
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	10°18′N 109°13′W
Archipelago	Lagoon
Area	6 km2 (2.3 sq mi)
Highest elevation	29 m (95 ft)
Highest point	Clipperton Rock
Administration
France
State private property	Île de Clipperton
Demographics
Population	0 (1945)
Additional information
Time zone	CIST (UTC-8)
Official website	L’île de Clipperton

Clipperton Island (Template:Lang-fr or Île de la Passion; Template:Lang-es), also known as Clipperton Atoll and previously referred to as Clipperton Rock, is a 6 km² (2.3 sq mi) uninhabited French coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is 10,677 km (6,634 mi) from Paris, France, 5,400 km (2,900 nmi) from Papeete, Tahiti, and 1,080 km (580 nmi) from Mexico. Clipperton Island is the only French possession in the North Pacific.

The island is an overseas state private property of France under direct authority of the Minister of the Overseas. Although the island is French territory, it has no status within the European Union. Ownership of Clipperton Island was disputed in the 19th and early 20th centuries between France and Mexico, but was finally settled through arbitration in 1931; the 'Clipperton Island Case' remains widely studied in international law textbooks.

Geography

Waves on the shore of Clipperton Island

The atoll is 1,080 km (583 nmi) south-west of Mexico, 2,424 km (1,309 nmi) west of Nicaragua, 2,545 km (1,374 nmi) west of Costa Rica and 2,260 km (1,220 nmi) north-west of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, at 10°18′N 109°13′W. Clipperton is about 945 km (510 nmi) south-east of Socorro Island in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, which is the nearest land, while the nearest French-owned island is Hiva Oa. Some consider it to be one of the eastern-most points of Oceania, rather than an outlying island of the Americas. The island is the only emerged part of the East Pacific Rise, and one of the few islands in the Pacific which lacks an underwater archipelagic apron.

It is low-lying and largely barren, with some scattered grasses, and a few clumps of coconut palms (Cocos nucifera). Land elevations average 2 m (6.6 ft), though a small volcanic outcrop rising to 29 m (95 ft) on its south-east side is considerably higher and is referred to as 'Clipperton Rock'. The surrounding reef hosts an abundance of corals and is partly exposed at low tide. Clipperton rock is the remains of the islands now extinct volcano, the existence of this rock means that Clipperton is not a true atoll and is sometimes referred to as a near-atoll. The surrounding reef in combination with the weather makes landing on the island difficult and anchoring offshore hazardous for larger ships, in the 1940s American ships reported active problems in this regard.

Clipperton has had no permanent inhabitants since 1945. It is visited on occasion by fishermen, French Navy patrols, scientific researchers, film crews, and shipwreck survivors. It has become a popular destination for DXpeditions by amateur radio operators.

Environment

Lagoon

Clipperton Island photographed by the Sentinel-2 satellite.

Clipperton is a ring-shaped atoll, which completely encloses a stagnant fresh water lagoon, and is 12 km (7.5 mi) in circumference. The island is the only coral island in the eastern Pacific. The lagoon is devoid of fish, and contains some deep basins, with depths of 43 and 72 m (141 and 236 ft), including a spot known as Trou-Sans-Fond, or 'the bottomless hole', with acidic water at its base. The water is described as being almost fresh at the surface, and highly eutrophic. Seaweed beds cover approximately 45 percent of the lagoon's surface. The rim averages 150 m (490 ft) in width, reaching 400 m (1,300 ft) in the west, and narrows to 45 m (148 ft) in the north-east, where sea waves occasionally spill over into the lagoon.

The closure of the lagoon approximately 170 years ago and prevention of seawater from entering the lagoon has formed a meromictic lake. The surface of the lagoon has a high concentration of phytoplankton that can slightly vary with the seasons. As a result of this the water columns are stratified and do not mix leaving the lagoon with a oxic and brackish upper water layer and a deep sulfuric anoxic saline layer. At a depth of approximately 15 m (49 ft) the water shifts with salinity rising and both pH and oxygen quickly decreasing. The deepest levels of the lagoon record waters enriched with hydrogen sulfide which prevent the growth of coral. Before the lagoon was closed off to seawater coral was able to grow in the area as evident by fossilized coral deposits. Studies of the water have found that microbial communities on the water's surface are similar to other water samples from around the world with deeper water samples showing a great diversity of both bacteria and archaea. Samples from deeper in the lagoon have In 2005 a group of French scientists sampled the lagoons water and discovered three microalgae species Peridiniopsis cristata which was abundant, Durinskia baltica which was known to exist in other locations before but new to Clipperton, and Peridiniopsis cristata var. tubulifera being unique to the island.

While some sources have rated the lagoon water as non-potable, testimony from the crew of the tuna clipper M/V Monarch, stranded for 23 days in 1962 after their boat sank, indicates otherwise. Their report reveals that the lagoon water, while not tasting very good, was drinkable, though "muddy and dirty". Several of the castaways drank it, with no apparent ill effects. Survivors of an ill-fated Mexican military colony in 1917 (see below) indicated that they were dependent upon rain for their water supply, catching it in old boats they used for this purpose. American servicemen on the island during the second world war had to use evaporators to purify the lagoons water. Aside from the lagoon and water caught from rain, no other freshwater sources are known to exist.

Climate

The island has a tropical oceanic climate, with average temperatures of 20–32 °C (68–90 °F). The rainy season occurs from May to October. In 1997 Clipperton was in the path of the start of Hurricane Felicia and has been subjected to multiple tropical storms and depressions including tropical storm Andres in 2003. Surrounding ocean waters are warm, pushed by equatorial and counter-equatorial currents and have seen temperature increases due to global warming. It has no known natural resources (its guano having been depleted early in the 20th century). Although 115 species of fish have been identified in nearby waters, the only economic activity in the area is tuna fishing.

Flora and fauna

When Snodgrass and Heller visited in 1898, they reported that "no land plant is native to the island". Historical accounts from 1711, 1825, and 1839 show a low grassy or suffrutescent (partially woody) flora. During Sachet's visit in 1958, the vegetation was found to consist of a sparse cover of spiny grass and low thickets, a creeping plant (Ipomoea spp.), and stands of coconut palm. This low-lying herbaceous flora seems to be a pioneer in nature, and most of it is believed to be composed of recently introduced species. Sachet suspected that Heliotropium curassavicum, and possibly Portulaca oleracea were native. Coconut palms and pigs were introduced in the 1890s by guano miners, and were still present in the 1940s. The pigs reduced the crab population, which in turn allowed grassland to gradually cover about 80 percent of the land surface. The elimination of these pigs in 1958, the result of a personal project by Kenneth E. Stager, has caused most of this vegetation to disappear, as the population of land crabs (Johngarthia planata) has returned to millions. The result is virtually a sandy desert, with only 674 palms counted by Christian Jost during the 'Passion 2001' French mission, and five islets in the lagoon with grass that the terrestrial crabs cannot reach. On the north-west side, the most abundant plant species are Cenchrus echinatus, Sida rhombifolia, and Corchorus aestuans. These plants compose a shrub cover up to 30 cm (12 in) in height, and are intermixed with Eclipta, Phyllanthus, and Solanum, as well as a taller plant, Brassica juncea. A unique feature is that the vegetation is arranged in parallel rows of species, with dense rows of taller species alternating with lower, more open vegetation. This was assumed to be a result of the phosphate mining method of trench-digging.

The only land animals known to exist are two species of reptiles (Gehyra insulensis, a gecko, and Emoia cyanura, a skink), bright-orange land crabs known as Clipperton Crabs birds, and rats. The rats probably arrived on large fishing boats that were wrecked on the island in 1999 and 2000. Bird species include white terns, masked boobies, sooty terns, brown boobies, brown noddies, black noddies, great frigatebirds, coots, martins (swallows), cuckoos, and yellow warblers. Ducks have been reported in the lagoon. The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of the large breeding colony of masked boobies, with 110,000 individual birds recorded. The lagoon harbours millions of isopods, which are said to deliver an especially painful sting. At a time there appears to have been green sea turtles on Clipperton with Benjamin Morrell noting in 1825 "The whole island is literally covered with sea-birds, such as gulls, whale-birds, gannets, and the booby.". Later research teams have been unable to observe these as they may have been driven out by guano extraction or the introduction or rats and pigs, although sea turtles have been found on the island they appear to be bad injured due to fishing practices.

The reefs that surround Clipperton have some of the highest concentration of endemic species found anywhere with over 115 species identified in the area. Many species are recorded in the area including five or six endemics such as Clipperton's angelfish, Clipperton's grouper ( Epinephelus clippertonensis ), Clipperton's damselfish ( Stegastes baldwini ) and robertson's wrasse ( Thalassoma robertsoni ). There are also leather groupers ( Dermatolepis dermatolepis ), white-spotted groupers ( Epinephelus labriformis ), bigeye trevally ( Caranx sexfasciatus ), black trevally ( Caranx lugubris ), blue trevally ( Caranx melampygus ), moray eels (especially small-spotted moray eels Gymnothorax dovii ), convict surgeonfish, white-spotted, white-tailed surgeonfish, red fusiliers ( Paranthias columnus ), snappers, bannerfish, yellow tweezerfish, speckled hawkfish ( Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus ), wine parrotfish ( Scarus rubroviolaceus ), and spotted spinyfish ( Arothron meleagris ) . Two new species of fish never seen at Clipperton have recently been identified: the royal angelfish ( Holacanthus passer ) and the starry parrotfish ( Calotomus carolinensis). The population of sharks in the waters around the island have seen an increase in the density and size of individuals is observed. Particularly the population of the white tip shark ( Carcharhinus albimarginatus ). There are also Galapagos sharks ( Carcharhinus galapagensis ) as well as reef sharks and hammerhead sharks.

A sponge found at the island is named after US President Franklin Roosevelt as it was collected during a trip he took to the island in 1938.

A 2005 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Southwest Fisheries Science Center indicated that the increased rat presence had led to a decline in both crab and bird populations, causing a corresponding increase in both vegetation and coconut palms. This report urgently recommended eradication of rats, so that vegetation might be reduced, and the island might return to its 'pre-human' state.

History

Location of Clipperton Island

Discovery and early claims

The date of discovery of the island has been inconsistently reported but has been noted to discovered by Spaniard Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón on 15 November 1528. The expedition was commissioned by Hernán Cortés, the Spanish Conquistador in Mexico, to find a route to the Philippines. Others claim that Portuguese-born Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first to find it in 1521, which would make Clipperton and certain islands of Micronesia the first areas of the Pacific to be reached by Europeans.

The island was rediscovered on Good Friday, 3 April 1711, by Frenchmen Martin de Chassiron and Michel du Bocage, commanding the French ships La Princesse and La Découverte. It was given the name Île de la Passion ('Passion Island') as the date of rediscovery fell within Passiontide. They drew up the first map and claimed the island for France.

The current name comes from John Clipperton, an English pirate and privateer who fought the Spanish during the early 18th century, and who is said to have passed by the island. Some sources claim that he used it as a base for his raids on shipping.

19th century

Mexican Rule 1821–1858

After its declaration of independence in 1821, Mexico took possession of the lands that had once belonged to Spain. As Spanish records noted the existence of the island as early as 1528, the territory was incorporated into Mexico. The Mexican constitution of 1917 explicitly includes the island, using the Spanish name La Pasión, as Mexican territory. This would be amended on January 18, 1934, after the sovereignty dispute over the island was settled in favor of France.

El territorio nacional comprende el de las partes integrantes de la Federación y además el de las islas adyacentes en ambos mares. Comprende, asimismo, la isla de Guadalupe, las de Revillagigedo y la de la Pasión, situadas en el océano Pacífico.

The national territory includes that of the integral parts of the Federation and also that of the adjacent islands in both seas. It also includes the island of Guadalupe, Revillagigedo and La Pasión , located in the Pacific Ocean.

— Mexican Constitution of 1917

French Rule (1858)

On 17 November 1858, Emperor Napoleon III annexed Clipperton as part of the French colony of Tahiti. Lieutenant Commander Victor Édouard Le Coat de Kerveguen published a notice of this annexation in Hawaiian newspapers to further cement France's claim to the island.

American Claim (1892–1897)

1895 $1 stamp of Clipperton Island, issued as part of the U.S. claim to the island

In 1892, a claim on the island was filed with the U.S. State Department under the U.S. Guano Islands Act by Frederick W. Permien of San Francisco on behalf of the Stonington Phosphate Company. In 1893, Permien transferred those rights to a new company, the Oceanic Phosphate Company. In response to the application, the State Department rejected the claim, noting France's prior claim on the island and that the claim was not bonded as was required by law. Despite this, the Oceanic Phosphate Company began mining guano on the island. Additionally during this time there were concerns in Mexico that the British or Americans would lay claim to the island. On 24 November 1897, French naval authorities found three Americans working on the island and flying an American flag. At that time, U.S. authorities assured the French that they did not intend to assert American sovereignty over the island. A few weeks later, on 13 December 1897, Mexico sent the gunboat La Demócrata to asset its claim on the island, evicting the Americans and drawing a protest from France. A colony was established, with a military governor being appointed to the island.

20th century

Mexican Colonization (1892–1917)

Capitan Ramon Arnaud Mexican Governor of Clipperton Island 1906-1917

The British Pacific Island Company acquired the rights to guano deposits on Clipperton in 1906, building a mining settlement in conjunction with the Mexican government. That same year, a lighthouse was erected under the orders of Mexixcan President Porfirio Díaz. In 1906, Captain Ramón Arnaud was appointed governor of Clipperton. At first he was reluctant, believing that this amounted to an exile from Mexico, but he accepted the post after being told that Díaz had personally chosen him to protect Mexico's interests in the international conflict with France and that the fact that he spoke English, French, and Spanish would assist him in protecting Mexico's sovereignty over the territory. He arrived on Clipperton as governor in later that year. By 1914 around 100 men, women, and children lived on the island, resupplied every two months by a ship from Acapulco. With the escalation of fighting in the Mexican Revolution, the regular resupply visits ceased, and the inhabitants were left to their own devices. On 28 February 1914 the schooner Nokomis wreaked on Clipperton; with a still seaworthy lifeboat four members of the crew volunteered to row for Acapulco for help. The USS Cleveland arrived months later to rescue the crew. While there the captain offered to transport the survivors of the colony back to Acapulco, Capitan Arnaud refused has he believed that a supply ship would arrive shortly. By 1917, all but one of the male inhabitants had died. Many had perished from scurvy, while others, including Captain Arnaud, died during an attempt to sail after a passing ship to fetch help. Lighthouse keeper Victoriano Álvarez was the last man on the island, together with 15 women and children. Álvarez proclaimed himself 'king', and began a campaign of rape and murder, before being killed by Tirza Rendón, who was his favourite victim. Almost immediately after Álvarez's death, four women and seven children, the last survivors, were picked up by the US Navy gunship Yorktown on 18 July 1917.

Final arbitration of ownership

France insisted on its ownership, and a lengthy diplomatic correspondence between Mexico and France led to the conclusion of a treaty on 2 March 1909, to seek binding international arbitration by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, with each nation promising to abide by his determination.

In 1931, King Victor Emmanuel III issued his arbitral decision in the Clipperton Island Case, declaring Clipperton to be a French possession. France formally took possession of Clipperton on January 26, 1935.

American visits

President Roosevelt made a stop over at Clipperton in July 1934 on board the USS Houston after transiting through the Panama Canal in route for Florida. During his time at Clipperton the President and his party spent time fishing for sharks in the surrounding waters, and afterwards Dr. Waldo Schmitt of the Smithsonian Institution went ashore with some crew to gather scientific samples and make observations of the island. During the stop at Clipperton the rigid airship USS Macon made a training flight out to Island and using a F9C biplane delivered mail to the USS Houston.

American occupation

The Government of the United States is aware of the extent to which the French Government is desirous to cooperate, in all domains, to the success of the Allied Armies, in Europe as well as in the Pacific. It will understand, however, its concern that French sovereignty be not disregarded in any part of the empire.

Georges Bidault,

In April 1944 the USS Atlanta took observations of Clipperton on route to Hawaii. On December 4, 1944 the USS Argus sailed from San Francisco to Clipperton arriving at the island on December 11, 1944 where the US Navy constructed and manned a weather station on Clipperton and stationed armed personnel in order to prepare for a possible Japanese attack in the region. Prior to the departure of the USS Argus planes from the USS Detroit flew over Clipperton to ensure that the island was not inhabited. At the weather station on Clippertion the US Navy sent 24 sailors and would send up a weather balloons everyday at 9am. After the construction of the weather station the US government informed the British, French, and Mexican governments of the station and its purpose. In April 1943 during a meeting between President Roosevelt and President Avila Camacho the topic of Mexican ownership of Clipperton was raised and which the American government seemed interested in Clipperton being handed over to Mexico due to the importance the island might play in both commercial and military air travel and its location near the panama canal. Later Clipperton would be considered as an airfield to allow air planes to fly between North America and Australia far from the front line of Pacific Theater. Although these talks were informal the position was reversed as Mexico had previously accepted the results of the arbitration and that the American government felt it would be easier to obtain a military base on the island from the French government then the Mexican government. After the French government had been notified of the station relations between the two countries on this matter deteriorated rapidly with the French government sending a formal note of protest on the matter concerning French sovereignty. Concerns with the American weather station on the island lead to an offer to have the French military operate the station or have the Americans agree to leave the weather station under the same framework that they had agreed to with their other weather stations in France and North Africa. Additionally there was concern within the newly formed French government at the time was that notification of the installation was made to the military and not the civilian leadership. With the French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault saying of the incident "This is very humiliating to us we are anxious to cooperate with you, but sometimes you do not make it easy". Vice Admiral Fenard of France requested during a meeting with US Admiral Davidson that civilians be given access to Clipperton and the surrounding waters, the US Navy denied the request as there was an active military installation on the island and instead offered to transport a French officer to the installation instead and reassured the French government that the United States did not wish to claim sovereignty over the island. During these discussions between the Admirals French diplomats in Mexico attempted to hire the Mexican vessel Pez De Plata out of Acapulco to bring a military attache to Clipperton under a cover story that they were going on a shark fishing trip. At the request of the Americans the Mexican government refused to allow the Pez De Plata to leave French officials attempted to leave in another smaller vessel and filed a false destination with the local port authorities but were also stopped by Mexican officials. During this time French officials in Mexico leaked information about their concerns as well as the arrive of seaplanes at Clipperton to the New York Times and Newsweek, both stories were refused publishing clearance on national security grounds. In February 1945 the US Navy transported French Officer Lieutenant Louis Jampierre to Clipperton out of San Diego where he visited the installation and that afternoon returned back to the United States. As the war in the pacific shifted concerns about Japanese incursions into the Western Pacific were reduced and in September 1945 the US Navy left Clipperton. During the clean up process on Clipperton the US Navy destroyed munitions but left significant materials on the island.

Post-World War II developments

After the island was abandoned by American forces at the end of World War II the island has been visited by sports fishermen, patrols of the French Navy, and by Mexican tuna and shark fishermen. There have been infrequent scientific and amateur radio expeditions, and in 1978 Jacques-Yves Cousteau visited with his team of divers and a survivor from the 1917 evacuation, to film a television special called Clipperton: The Island that Time Forgot.

The island was visited by ornithologist Ken Stager of the Los Angeles County Museum in 1958. Appalled at the depredations visited by feral pigs upon the island's brown booby and masked booby colonies (reduced to 500 and 150 birds, respectively), Stager procured a shotgun and killed all 58 pigs. By 2003, the booby colonies had 25,000 brown boobies and 112,000 masked boobies, the world's second-largest brown booby colony, and its largest masked booby colony. In 1994, this story inspired Bernie Tershy and Don Croll, both Professors at UCSC's Long Marine Lab to found the non-profit Island Conservation with the mission to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands.

When the independence of Algeria in 1962 threatened French nuclear testing sites in Algeria, the French Ministry of Defence considered Clipperton Island as a possible replacement. This was eventually ruled out due to the island's hostile climate and remote location, but the island was used to house a small scientific mission to collect data on nuclear fallout from their other nuclear tests. In 1968 the French military sent a mission to the island and left a few structures behind, although by 1978 they had become quite derelict. The French explored reopening the lagoon and developing a harbour for trade and tourism during the 1970s, but this too was abandoned. An automatic weather installation was completed on 7 April 1980, with data collected by this station transmitted directly by satellite to Brittany.

In 1981, the Academy of Sciences for Overseas Territories recommended that the island have its own economic infrastructure, with an airstrip and a fishing port in the lagoon. This would mean opening up the lagoon by creating a passage in the atoll rim. For this purpose, an agreement was signed with the French government, represented by the High Commissioner for French Polynesia, whereby the island became French state property. In 1986, a meeting took place regarding the establishment of a permanent base for fishing, between the High Commissioner, and the survey firm for the development and exploitation of the island (SEDEIC). Taking into account the economic constraints, the distance from markets, and the small size of the atoll, nothing apart from preliminary studies was undertaken. All plans for development were abandoned. In the mid-1980s, the French government also began efforts to enlist citizens of French Polynesia to settle on Clipperton; these plans were ultimately abandoned as well.

In November 1994 the French Space Agency requested the help of NASA to track the break up of the newly designed Ariane 5 rocket. After spending a month of Clipperton setting up and calibrating radar equipment to monitor Ariane flight V88 ended in disappointment as the rocket disintegrated 37 seconds after launch due to a software bug.

Castaways

In 1893 Charles Jensen and "Brick" Thurman of the Oceanic Phosphate Company were left abandoned on the island. The pair had sailed down to Clipperton aboard the Compeer and had been dropped off at the island with 90 days worth of supplies in order to prevent other claimants from trying to take the island from the company. Before leaving for Clipperton Charles Jensen wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Coast Seamen's Union Andrew Furuseth instructing him that if the Oceanic Phosphate Company had not sent a vessel to Clipperton six weeks after the return of the Compeer to make it known that they had been stranded there. The Oceanic Phosphate Company sent denied that it had not equipped the men with enough supplies and sent the schooner Viking to go retrieve the men from Clipperton ten days later. The Viking arrived at Clipperton on October 31 and was able to rescue the men.

In May 1897 the British cargo vessel Kinkora wrecked on Clipperton with the crew being able to save the food and water from the ship they were able to survive on the island in relative comfort. During the crews time on the island a vessel came by and offered to take the crew to the mainland for $1500 which the crew refused and instead eight of the men loaded up a lifeboat and rowed to Acapulco to get help. After the first mate of the Kinkora Mr McMarty arrived in Acapulco the HMS Comus set sail out of British Columbia for Clipperton to rescue the sailors.

In 1947 five American fishermen from San Pedro were rescued from Clipperton Island after surviving on the island for six weeks.

In early 1962, the island provided a home to nine crewmen of the sunken tuna clipper MV Monarch, stranded for 23 days from 6 February to 1 March. They reported that the lagoon water was drinkable, though they preferred to drink water from the coconuts they found. Unable to use any of the dilapidated buildings, they constructed a crude shelter from cement bags and tin salvaged from Quonset huts built by the American military 20 years earlier. Wood from the huts was used for firewood, and fish caught off the fringing reef combined with some potatoes and onions they had saved from their sinking vessel augmented the island's meager supply of coconuts. The crewmen reported that they tried eating bird's eggs, but found them to be rancid, and they decided after trying to cook a 'little black bird' that it did not have enough meat to make the effort worthwhile. Pigs had been eradicated, though the crewmen reported seeing their skeletons around the atoll. The crewmen were eventually discovered by another fishing boat, and rescued by the United States Navy destroyer USS Robison.

In 1988, five Mexican fishermen became lost at sea after a storm during their trip along the coast of Costa Rica. They drifted within sight of the island, but were unable to reach it.

21st century

Sichem Osprey grounded on Clipperton Island

The Mexican and French oceanographic expedition SURPACLIP, a joint undertaking by the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of New Caledonia Nouméa, made extensive studies in 1997. In 2001, French geographer Christian Jost extended the 1997 studies through his French 'Passion 2001' expedition, explaining the evolution of the ecosystem, and releasing several papers, a video film, and a website. In 2003, Lance Milbrand stayed for 41 days on a National Geographic Society expedition, recording his adventure in video, photos, and a written diary (see links below).

In 2005, the ecosystem was extensively studied for four months by a scientific mission organised by Jean-Louis Étienne, which made a complete inventory of mineral, plant, and animal species, studied algae as deep as 100 m (328 ft) below sea level, and examined the effects of pollution. A 2008 expedition from the University of Washington's School of Oceanography collected sediment cores from the lagoon, to study climate change over the last millennium.

On 21 February 2007, administration was transferred from the High Commissioner of the Republic in French Polynesia to the Minister of Overseas France.

Steven Robinson, a tropical fish dealer from Hayward California, traveled to Clipperton in April 2009 to find Clipperton angelfish and bring them back to sell. During his trip he illegally caught 52 angelfish and when returning to the United States he falsely claimed that the fish were the more common king angelfish. In an interview Robinson stated that "It's much uglier...There's a value that's created and that's for select customers who want something ugly but rare". For several day Robinson deceived federal wildlife authorities about the nature of the fish as the fish were valued at $10,000 apiece. On December 15, 2011, Robinson was sentenced to 45 days of incarceration, one year of probation, and a $2,000 fine.

During the night of 10 February 2010, the Sichem Osprey, a Maltese chemical tanker, ran aground en route from the Panama Canal to South Korea. The 170 m (558 ft) ship contained 10,513 metric tons (10,513 t) of xylene, 6,005 metric tons (6,005 t) of soybean oil, and 6,000 metric tons (6,000 t) of tallow. All 19 crew members were reported safe, and the vessel reported no leaks. The vessel was re-floated on 6 March and returned to service.

In mid-March 2012, the crew from the Clipperton Project noted the widespread presence of refuse, particularly on the north-east shore, and around the Rock. Debris, including plastic bottles and containers, create a potentially harmful environment for its flora and fauna. This trash is common to only two beaches (North East and South West), and the rest of the island is fairly clean. Other refuse has been left after occupation by Americans 1944–1945, French 1966–1969, and the 2008 scientific expedition.

In 2015 French MP Philippe Folliot set foot on Clipperton which had been a dream of his since he was nine years old.

On January 18, 2019 a magnitude 6.2 earthquake strung off the island; there was no tsunami threat reported.

In 2022, a law was passed in France that allows the island to also be called “La Passion-Clipperton””.

Amateur radio DX-peditions

The island has long been an attractive destination for amateur radio groups, due to its remoteness, the difficulty of landing, permit requirements, garish history, and interesting environment. While some radio operation was done ancillary to other expeditions, major DX-peditions include FO0XB (1978), FO0XX (1985), FO0CI (1992), FO0AAA (2000), and TX5C (2008).

One DX-pedition was the Cordell Expedition in March 2013 using the callsign TX5K, organised and led by Robert Schmieder. The project combined radio operations with selected scientific investigations. The team of 24 radio operators made more than 114,000 contacts, breaking the previous record of 75,000. The activity included extensive operation of the 6 meter band, including Earth–Moon–Earth communication (EME) or 'moonbounce' contacts. A notable accomplishment was the use of DXA, a real-time satellite-based online graphic radio log web page, that allowed anyone anywhere with a browser to see the radio activity. Scientific work carried out during the expedition included the first collection and identification of foraminifera, and extensive aerial imaging of the island using kite-borne cameras. The team included two scientists from the French-Polynesian University of Tahiti, and a TV crew from the French documentary television series Thalassa.

An April 2015 DX-pedition using callsign TX5P was conducted by Alain Duchauchoy, F6BFH, concurrent with the Passion 2015 scientific expedition to Clipperton Island, and engaging in research of Mexican use of the island during the early 1900s.

Postal code

The island is assigned with French postal code 98799. However, there is no post office on the island.

Photos and media

Flora and Fauna of Clipperton Island

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  Clipperton Island Lagoon, the only freshwater lagoon in the world.
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  A brown booby
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  Coconut palms on Clipperton. The lagoon is visible beyond the trees
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  A bright-orange Clipperton crab (Johngarthia planata)
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  Collection of fish found at Clipperton Island
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  Clipperton angelfish seized by the Fish and Wildlife Service
• Video of the crew of the USS Concord on Clipperton Island with a feral pig in 1945.

Historical Media of Clipperton Island

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  1897 Drawing of a Guano Settlement on Clipperton Island from the San Francisco Examiner
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  Mexican survivors from Clipperton Island, 1917
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  USCGC Bertholf approaches Clipperton Island in 2020
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  Tank landing ship USS LST-563 beached on Clipperton Island, December 1944.
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  USS LST-563 on the reef at Clipperton Island, December 1944
• 
  American weather station on Clipperton Island, December 1944
• Video of the crew of the USS Concord on Clipperton Island landing a Jeep and using a radio

See also

• Desert island
• Lists of islands

References

Sources

• Allen, G.R.; Robertson, D.R. (1996). "An annotated checklist of the fishes of Clipperton Atoll, tropical eastern Pacific".
• "State of coral reefs in Clipperton Island". ReefBase.org. French Coral Reef Initiative (IFRECOR). 1998. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
• Jost, Christian; Andrefouët, S. (2006). "Review of long term natural and human perturbations and current status of Clipperton Atoll, a remote island of the Eastern Pacific". Pacific Conservation Biology. Vol. 12. Chipping Norton, New South Wales, Australia: Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty. Ltd. p. 3.
• Jost, Christian (1 July 2005). "Risques environnementaux et enjeux à Clipperton (Pacifique français)". Revue européenne Cybergeo (in French). 314. Archived from the original on 21 November 2003. cartes et fig., 15 p.
• Jost, Christian (June–December 2005). "Bibliographie de l'île de Clipperton, île de La Passion (1711–2005)". Journal de la Société des Océanistes (in French). 120–121 (120–121). Paris, France: 181–197. doi:10.4000/jso.481. texte et 411 réf.
• Pitman, R.L.; Jehl, J.R. (1998). "Geographic variation and reassessment of species limits in the 'masked' boobies of the eastern Pacific Ocean". Wilson Bulletin. 110: 155–170.
• Skaggs, Jimmy (1989). Clipperton. A history of the island the world forgot. New York, NY, USA: Walker and Company.
• Snodgrass, R. E. & Heller, E. (30 September 1902). "The birds of Clipperton and Cocos Islands". Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences. Papers from the Hopkins Stanford Galápagos expedition 1898–1899. IV: 501–520. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
• Tamburini, Francesco (2008). "La controversia tra Francia e Messico sulla sovranità dell'isola di Clipperton e l'arbitrato di Vittorio Emanuele III (1909–1931)". Ricordo di Alberto Aquarone, Studi di Storia (in Italian). Pisa, Italy: Edizioni Plus.
• Central and Western Pacific. UNEP Regional Seas Directories and Bibliographies. Coral Reefs of the World. Vol. 3. Gland, Switzerland; Cambridge, England; Nairobi, Kenya: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) / United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 1988.

External links

• Wikimedia Atlas of Clipperton Island
• Isla Clipperton o 'Los náufragos mexicanos −1914/1917–' (in Spanish)

Photo galleries

• The first dive trip to Clipperton Island aboard the Nautilus Explorer — pictures taken during a 2007 visit
• Clipperton Island 2008 — Flickr gallery containing 94 large photos from a 2008 visit
• 3D photos of Clipperton Island 2010 — 3D anaglyphs

Visits and expeditions

• 2000 DXpedition to Clipperton Island — website of a visit by amateur radio enthusiasts in 2000
• Diving trips to Clipperton atoll — from NautilusExplorer.com