Queen Mary's Peak
| Queen Mary's Peak | |||
| St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | |||
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 Satellite photo of Tristan da Cunha | |||
| Tristan da Cunha | |||
| Summit: | 6,765 feet | ||
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Queen Mary's Peak is the summit of the island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean, one of the islands of the territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
The Peak rises to a height at its summit of 6,765 feet above sea level; the highest point in the island and in the whole territory. It is indeed the highest point of any inhabited island in Britain or the overseas territories; only South Georgia and Graham Land have higher mountains, but they have no permanent populations.
The mountain is named after Mary of Teck, the Queen consort of King George V.
The mountain is the peak of the massive shield volcano which forms the island. A 1,000-foot wide summit crater caps the peak, and it contains a heart-shaped crater lake. This lake is normally frozen during the winter, and the upper slopes of the volcano are covered in snow.
The only recorded historical eruption occurred in 1961 from a vent on the north shore of the island. The island community had to be evacuated.[1]
Queen Mary's Peak was used by sailors on the route from Europe to the Indian Ocean and beyond as a navigational aid. In the 17th century the East India Company instructed captains to sail by way of Tristan. In 2004, Ellen MacArthur sighted the Peak on her record-breaking circumnavigation of the world.
Climbing the peak
The first known attempt to climb the peak was in 1793 by the French naturalist Aubert Dupetit-Thouars, but this was without success. However from this expedition hundreds of plants were collected and catalogued.
In January 1817 the first successful climb was made to the peak. Today, Queen Mary's Peak makes a wonderful but steep climb and can take 5 to 10 hours, depending on the capability of the walker. The walk and climb is allowed only when accompanied by a local guide.
Queen Mary's Peak is the brand name for Tristan da Cunha island knitwear, which is exported to New Zealand.