page_title: Ducie Island
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Ducie Island / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: A beach on Acadia Island, Ducie Atoll, Pitcairn Islands.
context_page_description: Ducie Island is an uninhabited atoll in the Pitcairn Islands. It lies east of Pitcairn Island, and east of Henderson Island, and has a total area of 1.5 square miles, which includes the lagoon. It is 1.5 miles long, measured northeast to southwest, and about 1 mile wide. The island is composed of four islets: Acadia, Pandora, Westward and Edwards.
  Despite its sparse vegetation, the atoll is known as the breeding ground of a number of bird species. More than 90% of the world population of Murphy's petrel nests on Ducie, while pairs of red-tailed tropicbirds and fairy terns make around 1% of the world population for each species.
  Ducie was first discovered in 1606 by Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, who named it Luna Puesta, and rediscovered by Edward Edwards, captain of HMS Pandora, who was sent in 1790 to capture the mutineers of HMS Bounty. He named the island Ducie in honour of Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Baron Ducie. In 1867, it was claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act, but the United Kingdom annexed it on 19 December 1902 as part of the Pitcairn Islands. Due to its inaccessibility and the distance from Pitcairn Island, Ducie is rarely visited today.
context_section_description: Ducie lies 290 miles (470 km) east of Pitcairn Island and is claimed by some to be the southernmost atoll in the world at 24 degrees south latitude. However, Middleton Reef is at 29 degrees south latitude, so the assertion on behalf of Ducie Island is doubtful.  Ducie Island's land area is 170 acres (69 ha) and its maximum elevation, occurring on the Westward islet, is 15 feet (4.6 m).
  Ducie is located 620 miles (1,000 km) west of the edge of the Easter Plate. It was formed approximately 8 million years ago, after Oeno Island was formed by a hotspot that later caused a magma leak generated in the Oeno lineation. The leak spread over fracture zone FZ2, which was formed by the third movement of the Pacific Plate. The atoll is part of the Oeno-Henderson-Ducie-Crough seamount, speculated to be part of the southern Tuamotus.
  The atoll consists of four islets: Acadia—which is by far the largest—Pandora, Westward and Edwards. All three of the smaller islets can be accessed on foot from Acadia at low tide. The islets were named by Harald Rehder and John Randall, who visited the atoll during an expedition by the Smithsonian Institution in 1975.
  Acadia Islet, along the atoll's north and east rim, is several times larger than the other three islets combined, measuring 140 acres (57 ha). Very long and thin, the islet is largely forested and is composed of ridges of coral rubble. It is named after the Acadia, a ship that was wrecked on Ducie in 1881.
  Pandora Islet, in the south, is the second largest. It is composed of sand and coral rubble that borders the lagoon. It is named after HMS Pandora.
  Edwards Islet lies immediately to the east of Pandora Islet and has the same characteristics. It is named after Edward Edwards, captain of HMS Pandora.
  Westward Islet, west of Pandora Islet, is the smallest. It appears sandy from a distance, but the soil is composed of coral rubble and dead shells. Its highest point rises 15 feet (4.6 m) above average sea level. It is named after the Westward, the ship that carried the members of the National Geographic Society and the Oceanic Institute during their 1970–71 expedition.
  The atoll has a central lagoon, accessible by boat only by way of a channel 100 yards (91 m) wide located in the southwest, between Pandora and Westward Islets. It has a maximum depth of 52 feet (16 m) and its bottom consists of sand and coral. Whirlpools in the lagoon are common, caused by caves that drain the water from the lagoon into the ocean.
caption: A beach on Acadia Islet
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