Campbell Island
Campbell Island, the most southerly of the New Zealand subantarctic islands, lies on the Campbell Plateau — a submerged portion of the New Zealand continental landmass (the largest portion of submarine continental crust in the world) — 700 km south from New Zealand's South Island and 270 km southeast from Auckland Island (see panoramic image). Together with the other subantarctic islands of New Zealand it was proclaimed as a World Heritage Site in 1988.
The 115 km² island is shaped somewhat like a giant bird, measuring 16 km east to west and 15 km north to south. It is the highly eroded remnants of an ancient volcano last active several million years ago. The eastern coastline is highly indented by several elongate, fjord-like, drowned valleys (see mosaic image) so that no part of the island is far from the surrounding ocean. The largest of these drowned valleys, known as Perseverance Harbour, cuts deeply into the islands interior — measuring 8 km in length and up to 1.5 km km in width. It is separated by a broad peninsula from the smaller and narrower inlet of Northeast Harbour that lies to the north. The exposed western and southern coasts, by contrast to the gentler east coast, are more dramatic in appearance consisting of tall cliffs, small bays and narrow peninsulas, with numerous offshore islands, sea stacks and rocks.
The largest of the offshore islands include: Dent Island (located 1.5 km off Cattle Bay on the north coast of the western peninsula), Jacquemart Island (the largest, measuring 0.75 km by 0.5 km) located off the southern coast, and Île de Jeanette Marie (located off the northwest coast). Other significant islands (all located off the southwest coast) include: Survey Island, Monowai Island, Wasp Island, and the Hook Keys. A small unnamed islet located 50 m south from Jacquemart Island represents the southernmost territory of New Zealand outwith Antarctic claims.
The interior of Campbell island — composed of volcanic rocks, sandstone, conglomerate, mudstone, and limestone — consists of broad valleys, deep ravines and low rounded hills, rising to 558 m at Mt. Honey in the southeast. Vegetation cover on the island includes grasslands, dwarf forest, swamp and peat bog communities and maritime cushion and turf communities. In all, there are 128 native vascular plant species.
Campbell Island is home to three species of penguin: Eastern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome filholi), Erect-crested Penguin (Eudyptes sclateri) and Yellow-eyed Penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) and the world's largest population of Royal Albatross (Diomedea epomorphora). Introduced rats have been partly responsible for the loss of at least three native bird species; a rat eradication programme has helped bring back the Campbell Island Teal (Anas nesiotis) from the brink of extinction.
