Ascension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, around 1,000 miles from the coast of Africa. It is a dependency of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, which is 750 miles to the south. The Island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day.

The Island is most known as the location of Wideawake Airfield, which is a joint facility of the Royal Air Force and the United States Air Force. The Island was used extensively by the British military during the Falklands War.

1 History
2 Politics
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 Economy
6 Transport
7 Flora and Fauna
8 References
9 External links

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History

The Portuguese explorer Joao da Nova Castelia is believed to be the first person discover the island (in 1501), but did not report it. So when in 1503 Alphonse d'Albuquerque (Afonso de Albuquerque, a portuguese navigator) saw the island on Ascension Day, he named it for the day of its sighting. Dry and barren, it had little appeal for passing ships except as a provisioning station (local birds provided ample fresh meat), and remained uninhabited until 1815, when the British garrisoned it as a precaution after imprisoning Napoleon I of France on St Helena to the southeast. The Royal Navy officially designated the island as "HMS Ascension" with the classification of "Sloop of War of the smaller class". A Stone ship was a naval nickname for such land based establishments.

The location of the Island made it a useful stopping point for ships and communications. The Royal Navy used the Island as a victualling station for ships, particularly those of the West Africa Squadron working against the slave trade. A garrison of Royal Marines were based at Ascension from 1923. 1898, the Eastern Telegraph Company (now part of Cable and Wireless), installed the first underwater cable from the Island, connecting the UK with its colonies in South Africa. In 1922, Letters Patent made Ascension a dependency of Saint Helena, with the island being managed by the head of the Eastern Telegraph Company on the Island until 1964 when the British Government appointed an Administrator to represent the Governor of Saint Helena on Ascension. Image:View of Wideawake Airfield.jpg During World War II, the United States built an airbase on Ascension, known as Wideawake after a neaby colony of sooty turns (locally called 'Wideawake' birds beacause of their distictive call, which sounds like they are saying "wideawake! wideawake!"). The airbase was used by the US military as a stopping point for American aircraft crossing the Atlantic on the way to theatres of operation in Europe and Africa. However, after the end of the war, the Americans departed and the airbase fell into disuse.

They returned however, in 1956 and Wideawake airfield was expanded. The runway was extended to allow larger aircraft to use the base, and also to act as an emergency runway for the Space Shuttle if necessary. NASA also established a tracking station at Ascension in 1967, while the BBC installed a relay station for broadcasts to South America and Africa.

In 1982, Ascension was used as a staging post for the British Task Force during the Falklands War. The Royal Air Force deployed a fleet of Vulcan bombers at the airfield. The opening shots of the British offensive were launched from Ascension by Vulcans in Operation Black Buck. The RAF also used the base to supply the Task Force. The increase in air traffic during the war saw Wideawake being classed as the busiest airfield in the world for a short period. The Royal Navy fleet stopped at Ascension for refuelling on way. After the war, the British retained an increased presence on the Island, establishing RAF Ascension Island, and providing refuelling stop for the regular airlink between RAF Brize Norton in West London, and RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands.

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Politics

Ascension is a dependency of Saint Helena, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Executive authority is vested in The Queen, who is represented by the Governor of Saint Helena. As the Governor resides in Jamestown, Saint Helena, an Administrator is appointed to represent the Governor on Ascension Island.

In 2002, changes in the constitutional arrangements for Ascension Island, saw the first Island Council being elected.

Ascension also has its own suite of local laws, based on the law of Saint Helena, and the UK.

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Geography

Image:Ascension Island Map.jpg The main island has an area of approximately 35 square miles. A volcanic peak rising from just west of the mid-Atlantic Ridge, much of the island is a wasteland of lava flows and cinder cones; no less than 44 distinct craters have been identified. While it was barren with very few plants as recently as 1843, Ascension Island's Green Mountain is now one of the few large-scale artificial forests, and is gradually growing with each year. Its highest point is at 2817 ft.

Ascension's climate is subtropical, with temperatures at the coast ranging from about 68 to 88 Fahrenheit, and about 10 degrees cooler at the highest point. Rain showers may occur at any time during the year, but tend to be heavier between January and April.

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Demographics

There is no indigenous population on the Island, although around 1,100 people live there as of 2005. The military of the United States and the United Kingdom and civilans from Saint Helena make up the bulk of the population. The United States has around 150 people who service the US Air Force facilities at Wideawake. RAF Ascension Island is made up of 200 staff. Other residents include civilian contractors working and some government employees including the Administrator. These people generally originate from Saint Helena.

There are five settlements, the capital being Georgetown:

Georgetown (pop. 560)
Cat Hill (Main Base, the U.S. base, pop. 150)
The Residency
Traveller's Hill (Wideawake, the Royal Air Force base, pop. 200)
Two Boats Village

Additionally, there are some cottages on Green Mountain.

It is difficult to gain entry to Ascension Island as one needs written permission from the Administrator. Additionally, it is near-impossible to take up permanent residence there as one needs employment in order to stay on the island.

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Economy

Image:Stamp Ascension 1937 1.5p.jpg

The main economic activity on the island is centred around the military bases at Wideawake Airfield. SERCO Ltd manages the airport with ESS Ltd providing catering and domestic facilities. A former feature of Ascension was the permanently moored 70,000 tonne tanker offshore run by the Maersk which served as a bulk fuel facility but in December 2002 this was replaced by an on-shore Petroleum Supply Depot under military management

The Island also hosts many communications and relay stations, exploiting the Island's strategic position in the middle of Atlantic Ocean. Both the BBC and Cable and Wireless have communications posts there.

The main export item are Ascension Island postage stamps, first issued in 1922. Typically 5 to 6 sets of stamps are issued each year.

Limited tourism exists, mostly for sportfishing, however it is limited by the inaccessability of the island.

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Transport

The Island has a regular airlink with the United Kingdom and the Falkland Islands, with weekly flights to RAF Brize Norton, west of London and to RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands. Although these are operated by the Royal Air Force, civilians are permitted to fly. The United States maintains a weekly flight between the Island and Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. Recently the UK and US governments reached an agreement to allow civilan aircraft to land at Ascension, a move designed to improve tourist links- although no services have yet taken place.

The RMS Saint Helena operates between Ascension Island and Saint Helena on a regular basis, and also provides a connection to Cape Town and Cardiff. The US military also service their bases with a regular supply ship.

Within Ascension, there is no public transport and no taxis, any visitors requiring transport are required to hire a car.

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Flora and Fauna

Green turtles are perhaps the most notable of the wildlife, coming ashore to lay their eggs on the beaches from January to May. The sooty tern or "wideawake" nests in great numbers, along with boobies, petrels, noddies, Ascension frigate birds, and boatswain birds. On land are found canaries, francolins, mynahs, sparrows, and waxbills. A variety of mammals have been introduced, while reptiles consist of two species of lizards.

Offshore, there is a variety of open-ocean fish, including sharks, wahoo, tuna, bonita, barracuda, marlin, and sailfish.

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References

Official Ascension Island Government site
Siebert, L. and T. Simkin (2002-). Volcanoes of the World: an Illustrated Catalog of Holocene Volcanoes and their Eruptions. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-3. URL: http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/

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External links

British dependencies	Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
Overseas territories: Anguilla \| Bermuda \| British Antarctic Territory \| British Indian Ocean Territory \| British Virgin Islands \| Cayman Islands \| Falkland Islands \| Gibraltar \| Montserrat \| Pitcairn Islands \| Saint Helena (Ascension, Tristan da Cunha) \| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands \| Turks and Caicos Islands
Crown dependencies: Guernsey \| Jersey \| Isle of Man
UK Sovereign Base Areas: Akrotiri and Dhekelia (in Cyprus)