How the Pacific Ocean got its name

Why is the Pacific Ocean so named? It was thanks to the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed across it in 1520. His voyage down the eastern side of South America had been beset by storms and so, when he eventually found a passage to the west (through what is now known as the Strait of Magellan) he was greatly impressed by the calm sea he found on the other side.

The Spanish word “pacifico” means peaceful, and so it seemed to be an appropriate name to give this newly-discovered ocean. Of course, no ocean is without its bad weather, although the Atlantic does experience more storms than the Pacific. However, Magellan’s original impression was what he marked on his map and the name has stuck!

What Magellan did not appreciate was that the Pacific, at 166 million square kilometres, was twice the size of the Atlantic Ocean and the world’s deepest, at up to 4000 metres. The Pacific Ocean is actually larger than all the world’s land surfaces put together.

© John Welford

Henderson Island

Henderson Island is one of those places that you are highly unlikely ever to visit, unless you are an advanced student of ecology or evolution. The fact that it has been visited by so few people over the centuries is the main reason why it is so unusual and supports such an extraordinary variety of wildlife, much of which is found nowhere else.

Henderson Island is a raised coral atoll that forms part of the Pitcairn Group in the eastern Pacific Ocean, although it is 120 miles away from Pitcairn itself. The nearest landmass, South America, is 5,000 kms (3,100 miles away).

The island was once occupied by people of Polynesian origin, who arrived in the 12^th century but whose descendants abandoned it in the 15^th century. Since then there has been no permanent human presence. This means that it is one of only a handful of coral atolls in the world that has been free of human presence for a very long time.

For this reason, the process of evolution has developed unhindered, resulting in Henderson Island having ten plant and four bird species that are found here and nowhere else. The birds in question are the Henderson Lorikeet, the Henderson Fruit Dove, the Henderson Reed Warbler and the Henderson Crake.

The island therefore has immense value as an ecological time capsule and it is vitally important that human interference is kept to a minimum. It would be a tragedy if, for example, a visiting yacht were to leave a pair of rats behind, as these could easily lead to whole species being wiped out within quite a short time, as has happened elsewhere.

Henderson Island received its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, for the criteria: “Natural phenomena or beauty” and “Significant natural habitat for biodiversity”.

This is one of those places that people might think was “nice to visit” but the message has to be – keep off!

© John Welford