Editing Pitcairn Islands (section)

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of the Pitcairn Islands}}
The Pitcairn Islands form the southeasternmost extension of the geological [[archipelago]] of the [[Tuamotus]] of [[French Polynesia]], and consist of four islands: [[Pitcairn Island]], [[Oeno Island]] (atoll with five islets, one of which is Sandy Island), [[Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands)|Henderson Island]] and [[Ducie Island]] (atoll with four islets).

The Pitcairn Islands were formed by a centre of upwelling [[magma]] called the [[Pitcairn hotspot]]. [[Pitcairn Island]] is a volcanic remnant primarily formed of [[tuff]], where the north side of the cone has been eroded.<ref name="PitcairnFurey">{{Cite Q|Q106827302}}</ref> Pitcairn is the only permanently inhabited island. Adamstown, the main settlement on the island, lies within the volcanic basin.<ref name="PitcairnFurey"/> Pitcairn is accessible only by boat through Bounty Bay, due to the island's steep cliffs.<ref name="PitcairnFurey"/> Henderson Island, covering about 86% of the territory's total land area and supporting a rich variety of animals in its nearly inaccessible interior, is also capable of supporting a small human population despite its scarce fresh water, but access is difficult, owing to its outer shores being steep limestone cliffs covered by sharp coral. In 1988, this island was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Pitcairn Island: Island, Pacific Ocean |url=http://www.britannica.com/place/Pitcairn-Island |date=2015 |access-date=20 October 2015 |archive-date=24 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124230606/https://www.britannica.com/place/Pitcairn-Island |url-status=live }}</ref> The other islands are at a distance of more than {{convert|100|km|abbr=on}} and are not habitable.

Pitcairn Island has no permanent water source; however, the island has three seasonal semi-permanent springs.<ref name="PitcairnFurey"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island or atoll || Type || Land area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>) || Total area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>) || Pop.<br />2023 || Coordinates
|-
| [[Ducie Island]] || [[Atoll]]<sup>†</sup> || style="text-align:right"| 0.7 || style="text-align:right"| 3.9 || style="text-align:right"| 0 || {{Coord|24|40|28|S|124|47|10|W|}}
|-
| [[Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands)|Henderson Island]] || [[Tectonic uplift|Uplifted coral island]] || style="text-align:right"| 37.3 || style="text-align:right"| 37.3 || style="text-align:right"| 0 || {{Coord|24|22|01|S|128|18|57|W|}}
|-
| [[Oeno Island]] || Atoll<sup>†</sup> || style="text-align:right"| 0.65 || style="text-align:right"| 16.65 || style="text-align:right"| 0 || {{Coord|23|55|40|S|130|44|30|W|}}
|-
| [[Pitcairn Island]] || [[Volcano|Volcanic island]] || style="text-align:right"| 4.6 || style="text-align:right"| 4.6 || style="text-align:right"| 35 || {{Coord|25|04|00|S|130|06|00|W|}}
|-
| Pitcairn Islands<br />(all islands) || {{ndash}} || style="text-align:right"| 43.25 || style="text-align:right"| 62.45 || style="text-align:right"| 35 || 23°55′40″ to 25°04′00″S,<br />124°47′10″ to 130°44′30″W
|}
<sup>†</sup> Includes reef flat and lagoon of the atolls.

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Pitcairn Island NOAA.jpg|View from the east side of Pitcairn Island
File:Pitcairnsatellite.png|Satellite photo of Pitcairn Island
File:Pitcairn Island Group.svg|Map of the Pitcairn Islands
File:Bounty bay.jpg|View of [[Bounty Bay]] 
</gallery>

=== Climate ===
[[File:Geodesy Collection Pitcairn Island.jpg|thumb|[[Geodesy]] operations on the Pitcairn Islands]]
{{Main|Climate of the Pitcairn Islands}}
Pitcairn is located just south of the Tropic of Capricorn and experiences year-round warm weather.

{{Weather box
|location = Pitcairn Island (1972–2004)
|metric first = y
|single line = y
|collapsed   = yes
|Jan high C = 25.7
|Feb high C = 26.2
|Mar high C = 26.1
|Apr high C = 24.6
|May high C = 22.9
|Jun high C = 21.7
|Jul high C = 20.8
|Aug high C = 20.6
|Sep high C = 21.0
|Oct high C = 21.8
|Nov high C = 22.9
|Dec high C = 24.2
|year high C = 
|Jan mean C = 23.3
|Feb mean C = 23.8
|Mar mean C = 23.8
|Apr mean C = 22.5
|May mean C = 20.9
|Jun mean C = 19.7
|Jul mean C = 18.8
|Aug mean C = 18.5
|Sep mean C = 18.8
|Oct mean C = 19.6
|Nov mean C = 20.7
|Dec mean C = 22.0
|year mean C = 
|Jan low C = 21.0
|Feb low C = 21.4
|Mar low C = 21.5
|Apr low C = 20.3
|May low C = 18.9
|Jun low C = 17.8
|Jul low C = 16.9
|Aug low C = 16.5
|Sep low C = 16.6
|Oct low C = 17.4
|Nov low C = 18.6
|Dec low C = 19.8
|year low C = 
|Jan record high C = 31.2
|Feb record high C = 32.4
|Mar record high C = 33.3
|Apr record high C = 30.7
|May record high C = 29.1
|Jun record high C = 31.3
|Jul record high C = 26.7
|Aug record high C = 26.7
|Sep record high C = 25.5
|Oct record high C = 27.8
|Nov record high C = 27.6
|Dec record high C = 29.3
|Jan record low C = 16.9
|Feb record low C = 18.0
|Mar record low C = 12.8
|Apr record low C = 15.0
|May record low C = 14.2
|Jun record low C = 11.7
|Jul record low C = 11.4
|Aug record low C = 11.6
|Sep record low C = 10.0
|Oct record low C = 10.2
|Nov record low C = 13.0
|Dec record low C = 13.5
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 96.5
|Feb precipitation mm = 132.7
|Mar precipitation mm = 107.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 114.8
|May precipitation mm = 111.9
|Jun precipitation mm = 152.8
|Jul precipitation mm = 139.0
|Aug precipitation mm = 131.6
|Sep precipitation mm = 134.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 143.0
|Nov precipitation mm = 120.4
|Dec precipitation mm = 157.7
|year precipitation mm = 
|source 1 = NOAA<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets/GHCND/stations/GHCND:PC000919640/detail
| title = PITCAIRN ISLAND C, PC
| publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
| accessdate = January 5, 2023
}}</ref>
|source 2 = KNMI (precipitation)<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://climexp.knmi.nl/getprcpall.cgi?id=someone@somewhere&WMO=91960&STATION=PITCAIRN_IS._(UK)&extraargs=
| title = Time series: monthly PITCAIRN IS. (UK) GHCN v2 precipitation (all)
| publisher = [[Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute]]
| accessdate = January 5, 2023
}}</ref>
}}

=== Pitcairn Islands Dark Sky Sanctuary ===
In March 2019 the [[International Dark-Sky Association]] approved the Pitcairn Islands as a Dark Sky Sanctuary. The sanctuary encompasses all 4 islands in the Pitcairn Islands Group for a total land area of 43.25&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (16{{frac|3|4}} sq. mi.).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitpitcairn.pn/dark_sky/index.html|title=Dark Sky Sanctuary|website=VisitPitcairn-DarkSky|access-date=2019-12-01|archive-date=24 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191124005103/http://www.visitpitcairn.pn/dark_sky/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>