La Perouse Pinnacle
La Perouse Pinnacle is a steep basalt outcrop at French Frigate Shoals in the Pacific Ocean.[1] Rising approximately Template:Cvt above sea surface, it is the eroded plug of a shield volcano and caldera that formed 12Script error: No such module "String".million years ago. The rocky formation lies within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.[2] Because of its prominence and shape, the pinnacle can be mistaken for a sailing ship from a distance.
Geography
The pinnacle stands at the heart of French Frigate Shoals, Template:Cvt west-southwest of East Island, about midway in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.[3] The formation rises Template:Cvt above the ocean.[2][4] It is composed of dense basalt rock, covering an area of approximately Template:Cvt, that extends Template:Cvt in the northwest–southeast direction, with a maximum width of Template:Cvt. The pinnacle is visible from a distance of about Template:Cvt away.[5][6] It is surrounded by coral reefs and a shorter, rocky islet about Template:Cvt tall.[7] This environment provides a habitat for diverse species of seabirds and Marine life.[5][6]
Modern history
The formation is named for Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse. In the spring of 1786, the French frigates Astrolabe, under Fleuriot de Langle, and Boussole, under de Galaup, narrowly avoided disaster at French Frigate Shoals. The Boussole mistook the pinnacle for the Astrolabe, but a last-minute course correction averted collision.[2][8][9]
In the 19th century, the whaling ship Rebecca, on a moonlit night, mistook La Perouse Pinnacle for a sailing vessel. Attempts to signal went unanswered, and the ship ran aground on the reef, however the ship and the crew survived.[10][11]
In 1923, the Tanager expedition visited and made the first scientific determination of the pinnacle's basalt rock composition.[12]
The pinnacle was a noted landmark by sailor's conducting a search for a lost sailor in the late 2010s, and was noted in an article in the sailing magazine Cruising World in 2018.[13]
See also
- Ball's Pyramid, the tallest basalt outcrop on earth, also located in the Pacific Ocean
References
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- ↑ Cruising World - Searching for a Lost Sailor 2018
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External links
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