Map of the Month: Dec 08 - Christmas Island(s)

Depending on how you look at it, maps are either purely practical with little of interest or note, or they can offer endless fascination to the casual observer - from unusual place names, to the detail of the Norwegian fjords (as immortalised by the late Douglas Adams). I'm sure someone must have claimed to have spotted the Turin Shroud in the contours of the Scottish Highlands at one time or another.

So in writing this blog, I tried to think of something appropriately festive, as well as be remotely noteworthy. These islands are perhaps not that noteworthy, they are certainly remote, and maybe even Stephen Fry would find the fact that there are three of them, to be ... 'Quite Interesting'.

I'm talking about Christmas Island - all of them. I'm sure most of us have heard of at least one, and have some vague notion of where in the world it is, but I for one certainly didn't know there were another two.

The most well known lies in the Indian Ocean, which although remains an Australian Territory, lies closer to Jakarta than it does to Perth, and has a population of around 1,500. While just 52 sq. miles in size, it is home to a wide array of flora and fauna unique to the island. It is perhaps best known for its red crabs - every year tens of millions of the critters head to the sea to spawn, and has been described as one of the natural wonders of the world.

Another Christmas Island turns out not to be an island at all, but a small settlement in Canada (on the lower middle of the Cape Breton Island map opposite). This one was named after a nearby island, which itself was named after its sole inhabitant, one Mr Christmas, but has since been renamed Ghost Island. There's not much to note about this Christmas Island, although it does have a post office, and due to its connections with Scotland, a Gaelic Festival akin to the Mod.

Perhaps the most interesting of the three is Kiritimati, a small Pacific island, its name being the pronunciation of Christmas in the local language, Gilbertese. Despite its unremarkable nature, it does boast a few claims to fame:

*The republic of Kiribati, of which it is a part, comprises 33 coral atolls, and Kiritimati is the largest anywhere in the world.

*Back in the 50s Wernher von Braun suggested it would be a perfect location to launch manned space flights. In May 1957, the British carried out their first H-bomb test there, as part of Operation Grapple. The US also carried out similar tests on the island in the 60s.

*And in keeping with the Christmas (well, almost!) theme, its proximity to the International Dateline means that it is about the first place on the planet able to celebrate New Year!

So this is my Map of the Month for Christmas (December) 2008.

Do any other Christmas related places or features spring to your mind?
Please use the comment function to send in your suggestions, the quirkier the better, and could you provide some Quite Interesting facts about them?