„Le Pouce“ – Versionsunterschied
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Vorlage:Infobox mountain Le Pouce (French: "The Thumb") is a mountain in Mauritius. It is named Le Pouce for the thumb shaped peak of the mountain.[1] The mountain is third highest in Mauritius with a peak elevation of 812 meters (2664 feet),[1] behind Pieter Both (820 m), and Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (828 m). It can be viewed from the capital of Mauritius, Port Louis, and is a popular hike because of the view of the city.[1] The mountain is in the Moka Range and is closest to the village of La Laura-Malenga in the Moka District. Charles Darwin is credited with the first ascent.[2]
Geography
The Moka Range was formed ten million years ago, from volcano eruptions.[3] The island chain in which Mauritius is in, the Mascarene Islands, is a volcanic belt.[4] Le Pouce is the second highest peak in the Moka Range. The range is a basalt lava dome. It is no longer volcanic.[5]
Le Pouce is overgrown with guava and acacia.[6] One example of flora endemic to Le Pouce is the Le Pouce Mountain Screwpine (pandanus pseudomontanus). It is critically endangered.[7]
Hiking
Le Pouce has been known for being an easy hike.[1][2] However, it is very steep, especially near the thumb. Le Pouce can be reached from Moka or Port Louis. Unlike Pieter Both, climbing gear is not needed. From the peak, Port Louis, Moka, and Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill can be seen, as well as many other places around the island.[1]
History
As previously mentioned, Le Pouce was formed ten million years ago in a basalt lava dome. A local climbing Le Pouce before Charles Darwin did is probable, but not recorded. Charles Darwin is credited with the first ascension of the mountain during his voyage around the world.[2] He recorded in his journal:
- "[On 2 May] I ascended La Pouce Vorlage:Sic, a mountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which rises close behind the town to a height of 2600 feet. The centre of the island consists of a great platform, surrounded by old broken basaltic mountains, with their strata dipping seawards. The central platform, formed of comparatively recent streams of lava, is of an oval shape, thirteen geographical miles across, in the line of its shorter axis. The exterior bounding mountains come into that class of structures called Craters of Elevation, which are supposed to have been formed not like ordinary craters, but by a great and sudden upheaval. There appears to me to be insuperable objections to this view: on the other hand, I can hardly believe, in this and in some other cases, that these marginal crateriform mountains are merely the basal remnants of immense volcanos, of which the summits either have been blown off, or swallowed up in subterranean abysses."[5]
As time went by and tourism increased, hiking Le Pouce became a tourist attraction.[1]
Gallery
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The view of Port Louis from the summit -
The Moka Range from the top of Le Pouce -
A view of "The Thumb" from a hiking trail
References and Notes
- ↑ a b c d e f Referenzfehler: Ungültiges
<ref>-Tag; kein Text angegeben für Einzelnachweis mit dem Namen LP. - ↑ a b c Vorlage:Citeweb
- ↑ Vorlage:Citeweb
- ↑ Vorlage:Citeweb
- ↑ a b Referenzfehler: Ungültiges
<ref>-Tag; kein Text angegeben für Einzelnachweis mit dem Namen Darwin. - ↑ Vorlage:Citeweb
- ↑ Vorlage:Citeweb