Geography, Flora and Fauna
Vostok is located at 10°06′S 152°23′W / 10.1°S 152.383°W / -10.1; -152.383Coordinates: 10°06′S 152°23′W / 10.1°S 152.383°W / -10.1; -152.383, and covers a land area of 24 hectares. Its nearest neighbors are Flint Island, 158 km south-southeast; Caroline Atoll, 230 km to the east; and Malden Island, 709 km north-northwest. It is 1.3 km in length, and is triangular-shaped.
Beaches on the island range between 25 and 50 meters wide, composed of coral sand and rubble. There is no lagoon or fresh water on the island, and no known freshwater lens. Vostok's major portion is covered with a pure stand of Pisonia trees rooted in moist peat soil one meter thick. These trees, with heights of up to 30 meters, grow so densely that no other plants can grow beneath them. The herbs Boerhavia repens and Sesuvium portulacastrum round out the known vegetation.
An attempt to plant coconut seedlings on Vostok in 1922 failed, and unlike the nearby islands of Caroline and Flint, no coconut palms are known to exist on the island today.
Noteworthy fauna includes several species of seabirds, including the Red-footed Booby (Sula sula), Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor), Lesser Frigatebird (F. ariel), Black Noddy (Anous minutus), White Tern (Gygis alba), Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra), Brown Booby (S. leucogaster) and Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus). The Polynesian Rat and the Azure-tailed Skink (Emoia cyanura), together with Coconut Crabs and Green Turtles, completes the known land fauna.
Read more about this topic: Vostok Island
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