View source for Bounty Islands

{{Short description|Island group in New Zealand}}
{{Expand Dutch|topic=geo|date=October 2020|Bountyeilanden}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox islands
| name                = Bounty Islands
| local_name          = {{native_name|mi|Moutere Hauriri}}
| image_name          = Bounty-2024-Pano-mattern.jpg
| image_caption       = Panorama of the entire Bounty Islands archipelago, January 2024
| image_map           = Bounty Islands New Zealand geographic map en.svg
| image_map_caption   = Map of the Bounty Islands
| pushpin_map         = Pacific Ocean
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of the Bounty Islands within the Pacific Ocean
| pushpin_map_relief  = true
| nickname         = 
| coordinates      = {{coord|47|45|S|179|03|E|region:NZ_type:isle|display=inline,title}}
| archipelago      = 
| total_islands    = 
| major_islands    = 
| area_km2         = 1{{efn| The [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)]] gives a "total land mass" of {{km2|1.35}}<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/southland/places/subantarctic-islands/bounty-islands/ |title = Bounty Islands |website = doc.govt.nz |access-date = 7 February 2024}}</ref> while [[Land Information New Zealand]] gives both {{km2|1.35}} or {{km2|0.5}} depending on the dataset.<ref name=LINZ/><ref>{{cite web |url = https://data.linz.govt.nz/mapviewer/?mv.centre=179.05%2C-47.75&mv.content=layer.53564&mv.zoom=14 |title = Protected Areas |website = linz.govt.nz |access-date = 7 February 2024}}</ref>}}
| length_km        = 
| width_km         = 
| highest_mount    = 
| elevation_m      = 73
| population       = 0
| population_as_of = 
| density_km2      = 
| ethnic_groups    = 
| country          = {{flagu|New Zealand}}
| additional_info  = 
}}

The '''Bounty Islands''' ({{langx|mi|'''Moutere Hauriri'''}}; "Island of angry wind") are a small group of uninhabited [[granite]] islets and numerous rocks, with a combined area of around {{cvt|50|ha}} in the South Pacific Ocean.  Territorially part of [[New Zealand]], they lie about {{cvt|670|km}} east-south-east of New Zealand's [[South Island]], {{cvt|530|km}} south-west of the [[Chatham Islands]], and {{cvt|215|km}} north of the [[Antipodes Islands]]. The group is a [[World Heritage Site]].<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/877/multiple=1&unique_number=1029 New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands]. UNESCO.org (27 June 2013). Retrieved 2 August 2013.</ref>

The islands are listed with the [[New Zealand Outlying Islands]]. The islands are an immediate part of New Zealand, but not part of any [[Regions of New Zealand|region]] or [[Territorial Authorities of New Zealand|district]]. Rather, they are listed as an ''Area Outside Territorial Authority'', similar to all other outlying islands except for the [[Solander Islands]].

==History==
Captain [[William Bligh]] discovered the Bounty Islands en route from [[Spithead]] to [[Tahiti]] in 1788, and named them after his ship [[HMS Bounty|HMS ''Bounty'']], just months before the famous [[Mutiny on the Bounty|mutiny]]. The location of the islands were only roughly marked on charts. In early 1866 Commander W. H. Norman of [[HMVS Victoria (1855)|HMVS ''Victoria'']] was tasked with determining more accurately their position. He reported them as being latitude 47°50' South and longitude 179°00' East.<ref>"Shipping," ''Lyttelton Times'', Volume XXV, Issue 1609, 9 February 1866, Page 2</ref> Captain George Palmer, during the search for the ''[[Matoaka (1853 ship)|Matoaka]]'', placed the islands at 47°46'24" South 178°56'45" East. Palmer also annexed the islands for New Zealand.<ref>"Proclamation," ''Otago Daily Times'', Issue 2680, 8 September 1870, Page 2</ref>

During the 19th century the area was a popular hunting-ground for [[seal hunting|sealers]].<ref>"Bluff Harbour," ''Southland Times'', Issue 3773, 26 July 1880, Page 2</ref> The islands were also searched from time to time for missing ships and crews, including those from the ''[[General Grant (sailing ship)|General Grant]]'' and the ''Matoaka''.<ref>"The missing boats crew," ''Hawke's Bay Herald'', Volume 12, Issue 918, 18 February 1868, Page 3</ref>

The [[NZGSS Hinemoa|''Hinemoa'']] visited the islands in March 1886 and erected a [[castaway depot|depot for marooned sailors]] on the largest island. Captain Fairchild noted that there was no fresh water available on these islands.<ref>"The SS Hinemoa's trip," ''Press'', Volume XLIII, Issue 6397, 22 March 1886, Page 2</ref> The depot had been destroyed by the sea by the time the ''Stella'' visited the island in 1887.<ref>"The SS Stella's Visit to the Islands," ''Evening Post'', Volume XXXIII, Issue 71, 25 March 1887, Page 3</ref> A new [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] chart 1022 was issued for the area in 1888, which took into account survey work undertaken by the ''Hinemoa''.

In November 1891 the ''Hinemoa'' returned to the islands and built a fresh provisions storage.<ref>"The Hinemoa's Cruise," ''Oamaru Mail'', Volume XVI, Issue 5125, 7 November 1891, Page 3</ref>
[[File:Pacificana cockayni adult male Bounty Islands New Zealand.jpg|left|thumb|[[Pacificana|''Pacificana cockayni'']] spider from Proclamation Island (subadult male)]]

==Flora and fauna==
Ecologically, the islands are part of the [[Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra]] [[ecoregion]].  Plants include [[Lepidium oleraceum|Cook's scurvy grass]]. The group is home to an endemic spider ''[[Pacificana cockayni]]'',<ref>[http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/20152464/going-on-a-spider-hunt]. 'Radio New Zealand Going on a spider hunt'. Retrieved 3 December 2016 3:00&nbsp;pm</ref> endemic insects, and large numbers of [[seabird]]s.

===Important Bird Area===
The Bounty group has been identified as an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]] because of its significance as a breeding site for [[erect-crested penguin]]s, [[Salvin's albatross]]es and [[Bounty shag]]s.<ref>BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Bounty Islands. Downloaded from {{cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org |title=BirdLife International – conserving the world's birds |accessdate=17 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710124603/http://www.birdlife.org/ |archivedate=10 July 2007 }} on 27 January 2012.</ref>

[[File:Bounty Islands Sub-Antarctic New Zealand Panorama 1.jpg|thumb|upright=2.5|center|Mixed colony of [[Salvin's albatross]] and [[Erect-crested penguin|erect-crested penguins]] on [[Proclamation Island]]. Note also a [[fulmar prion]] on a rock near the center of the image.]]

==Geography==
There are 13 granite islands that make up the Bounty Island group.<ref name=":0">{{CiteQ|Q125163016|pages=10}}</ref> The whole chain is only {{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=on}} across at its longest axis, and comprises three subgroups: the Main Group, the Centre Group, and the East Group. The total area is only {{cvt|1.35|km2}}. 

The Main Group is the largest of the three groups, and is located in the northwest of the chain. It includes the group's largest island, Depot Island,<ref name=":0" /> which is around 700 metres in length and 400 metres across at its widest point. Proclamation and Tunnel Islands are separated from Depot Island by only a narrow cleft, and are joined to it at low tide. A small islet off the north coast of this group's Spider Island is the chain's northernmost point; the westernmost point is the western tip of Penguin Island.<ref name="DLSMap">NZMS 272/1+5 (1981) "Snares Islands and Bounty Islands", Wellington:NZ Government Department of Lands and Surveys.</ref>

The Centre Group is located some 1.5 to 2 kilometres to the southeast of the Main Group, and contains three main islands, arrayed in a north–south line. A smaller islet lies immediately to the west. The northernmost of the Centre Group, Funnel Island, contains the chain's highest point, at {{cvt|73|m}} above sea level.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.linz.govt.nz/land/maps/topographic-maps/new-zealand-offshore-islands-maps|title="New Zealand offshore islands maps – BI01 Bounty Islands"|publisher=Land Information New Zealand|date=2 October 2017|accessdate=27 August 2019}}</ref> 

A further 1.5 kilometres to the east is the East Group, which is also arrayed roughly in a north–south line. The largest island in this group, Molly Cap, is the group's southernmost island, and contains the chain's second-highest point, {{cvt|70|m}} above sea level. This group contains two large islets and one small islet, along with several reefs and stacks, one of which is the easternmost point in the chain.<ref name="DLSMap" />

The islands are at the [[antipodes]] of [[Bouillé-Ménard]], in France ([[Pays de la Loire]]).{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

=== Islands ===

The following table includes named islands according to [[Land Information New Zealand]].<ref name=LINZ>{{cite web |url = https://data.linz.govt.nz/mapviewer/?mv.centre=179.05%2C-47.75&mv.content=layer.50772&mv.zoom=14 |title = NZ Primary Parcels |website = linz.govt.nz |access-date = 7 February 2024}}</ref>

{{table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable sortable col2right"
! Location !! Area {{br}} (ha) !! Group
|-
| [[Depot Island (Bounty Islands)|Depot Island]] || 13.0 || rowspan=13 | Main
|-
| Ruatara Island || 5.5
|-
| Penguin Island || 5.1
|-
| Lion Island || 4.8
|-
| Spider Island || 4.7
|-
| Proclamation Island || 3.4
|-
| Tunnel Island || 1.7 
|-
| Ranfurly Island || 1.4 
|-
| Skua Rock || 0.7 
|-
| Seal Rock || 0.5
|-
| unnamed || 0.2 
|-
| Dog Rock || 0.2
|-
! ''Main Group'' || 41.2
|-
| Funnel Island || 2.7 || rowspan=5 | Centre
|-
| Prion Island || 1.2
|-
| Castle Island || 0.7
|-
| Coronet Island || 0.3 
|-
! ''Centre Group'' || 5.0
|-
| Molly Cap || 2.4 || rowspan=4 | East
|-
| North Rock || 0.9
|-
| Con Island || 0.4
|-
! ''East Group'' || 3.9
|-
! {{center|Total}} || 50.2 ||
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Islands}}
* [[List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands]]
* [[List of islands of New Zealand]]
* [[List of islands]]
* [[New Zealand subantarctic islands]]
* [[Water hemisphere]]
* [[species:Category:Bounty Islands nonmarine fauna|Bounty Islands nonmarine fauna]]
* [[Campbell Plateau]]
* [[Desert island]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Countries and territories of Oceania}}
{{World Heritage Sites in New Zealand}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:New Zealand subantarctic islands]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of the Southern Ocean]]
[[Category:Islands of the New Zealand outlying islands]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of subantarctic islands|Bounty Islands]]