Tristan da Cunha

**Tristan da Cunha** is a group of remote volcanic islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and also the main island of that group. Tristan da Cunha is the most remote archipelago (group of islands) and the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world; it is at  from the nearest land, South Africa, and  from South America.

The territory consists of the main island of Tristan da Cunha itself, which measures about  across and has an area of , along with the uninhabited Nightingale Islands and the wildlife reserves of Inaccessible Island and Gough Island.

Tristan da Cunha is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. This includes Saint Helena  to its north and equatorial Ascension Island even further north. The island has a permanent population of 275 (2009 figures).

## History
The first known sighting of the islands was in 1506 by Portuguese explorer Tristan da Cunha (), but he did not go to land because of rough seas. He gave the name to the main island of the group () but it was soon changed by to *Tristan da Cunha*.

In 1643 the crew of the Dutch ship *Heemstede* made the first known landing. In 1656 Jan van Riebeeck, the governor of Cape Town, sent a ship to the archipelago to see if it was possible to establish a military station, but the project was abandoned.

Tristan da Cunha also found Inaccessible Island in 1506; its present name was given by French Captain d'Escheverry (or d'Etchevery). In that same year, Portuguese captain Gonçalo Alvarez discovered the Gough Island and named the island after him. It was re-discovered by the British Capt. Charles Gough who also gave his name to the island.

The Nightingale Island was discovered by Dutch sailors in 1656 and named it *Gebroocken Eiland*. The British Captain Gamaliel Nightingale, who visited the group in 1760, gave his name to the island.

, Tristan da Cunha, with Queen Mary's Peak in the back.]]
The first permanent settler was Jonathan Lambert, from Salem, Massachusetts, United States, who came to the islands in December 1810. He declared the islands his property and named them the *Islands of Refreshment*. Lambert's rule was short-lived, as he died in 1812. The occupation also prevented the United States from using Tristan da Cunha as a base, as they had during the War of 1812.

The average temperature for the year in Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, with an elevation of 23 m, is 13.9&nbsp;°C (57.0&nbsp;°F). The warmest month, on average, is February with an average temperature of 17.8&nbsp;°C (64.0&nbsp;°F). The coolest month on average is August, with an average temperature of 10.6&nbsp;°C (51.0&nbsp;°F).

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Edinburgh of the Seven Seas is 1612.9&nbsp;mm. The month with the most precipitation on average is August with 160&nbsp;mm of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of 91.4&nbsp;mm. and share just eight surnames: Glass (Scottish), Green (Dutch), Hagan (Irish), Lavarello (Italian, a typical Ligurian surname), Patterson (Scottish), Repetto (Italian, another typical Ligurian surname), Rogers (English) and  Swain (English).

## Culture and Society 
**Knitting**

Knitting has served an essential and prominent role in Tristan da Cunha since its establishment as an overseas territory. The presence of American whalers in the south seas helped facilitate trade with St. Helena and within a decade of the community's founding, sheep and 'wosted' (the Tristan term for locally spun wool) had emerged as the island settlement's most important domestic industry, primary export, and an essential component of the region's trans-oceanic economy. Tristan wosted is used for the production of island's iconic love socks and traditional fishing 'gansies' (a Tristan term for pullovers). 

**Traditional Economic Activities**

Tristanians have historically relied on potatoes as an essential component in the island's food security and the planting of the annual crop is still regarded as an important community responsibility. Potatoes are primarily grown in irregularly arranged beds two miles from the settlement, known colloquially as *"The Patches"*, that are protected from the weather and from grazing animals by stone walls. 

Sheep Shearing Day, which is held in December, involves Tristanian women first marking the family's sheep with bright paint for identification purposes while children catch the sheep with crooks and male islanders over the age of fourteen shear the sheep with traditional metal hand shears.

## Gallery 

File:TristanDaCunha.jpg|Satellite image of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago.
File:Tristan da Cunha ASTER.jpg|Satellite image of the Tristan da Cunha island.
File:Inaccessible Island ASTER.jpg|Satellite image of the Inaccessible island.
File:Nightingale Island ASTER.jpg|Satellite image of the Nightingale islands.
File:Maria S. Merian vor Tristan da Cunha.jpg|A German ship in Tristan da Cunha. In the back is Queen Mary's Peak and to the right is Edinburgh of the Seven Seas.
File:Edinburgh of the Seven Seas 01.jpg|Edinburgh of the Seven Seas
File:Edinburgh of the Seven Seas 03.jpg|Edinburgh of the Seven Seas
File:Potato patches (Tristan da Cunha).jpg|*Potato patches*

## References
## Other websites