Ascension Information

/Home/A-B Countries/Ascension (Country Code 247)/Ascension Information

The small island of Ascension (Topographic Map) lies in the South Atlantic (7 56'S, 14 22'W) some 750 miles Northwest of the Island of Saint Helena and covers an area of 34 square miles.

The weather is warm all year round rising to a maximum of 30 degrees C. during the months of January, February and March.
The breeze of the South East Trade Winds moderates these temperatures. Rainfall is variable and hard to predict. The island is volcanic, and its lower slopes and Western side are made up of volcanic ash with little vegetation. Green Mountain, which rises to a height of 3,000 feet at the centre of the island, is lush and green.
The vast majority of goods and food for the island is supplied by sea from the UK and South Africa. There is a very limited supply of fresh produce.

Despite its small size there is a lot to do on the island. There are numerous walks, the opportunity to go scuba diving, and play a wide variety of sports. These include football, tennis, squash and golf (albeit on officially one of the worst golf courses in the world). Sea fishing is also very popular.

It was discovered by the Portuguese seafarer Joao da Nova Castelia in 1501, (although this visit apparently went unrecorded) and "found again" two years later on Ascension Day by Alphonse d'Albuquerque, who gave the island its name. Being dry and barren it was of little use to the East Indies fleets. So it remained uninhabited until Emperor Napoleon I was incarcerated on St Helena in 1815 when a small British naval garrison was stationed on Ascension to deny it to the French. The island was designated "HMS Ascension", a "Stone sloop of War of the smaller class".

By Napoleon's death in 1821 Ascension had become a victualling station and sanatorium for ships engaged in the suppression of the slave trade around the West African coast. In 1823 the island was taken over by the Royal Marines. It remained under the supervision of the British Board of Admiralty until 1922, when it was made a Dependency of St Helena by Royal Letters Patent.

From 1922 until 1964 the island was managed by the Eastern Telegraph Company (renamed Cable and Wireless in 1934).

In 1964, in view of plans to establish BBC and Composite Signal Organisation (CSO) stations, an Administrator was appointed.

MILITARY
During the Second World War the United States Government, by arrangement with Her Majesty's Government, built an airstrip "Wideawake Field". From 1943-45 over 25,000 US planes transited Ascension Island destined for the North African, Middle East and European theatres of war. In 1957 a US presence was re-established and the airhead was enlarged and is now also the Southeast tracking station of the USAF Eastern Test Proving Ground. In 1967 a NASA tracking station was built but has since closed down.


Airfield
Wideawake Airfield, Ascension Island.

There is a weekly USAF air service between Ascension Island, Antigua and Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. In 1982 the island was re-garrisoned by British Forces to support operations in the Falkland Islands. Ascension remains the intermediate stop for UK military flights between the United Kingdom and the Falklands. As such it is one of the main gateways to the outside world for Saint Helenians who travel to and from St Helena on the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) "Saint Helena".

COMMUNICATIONS
Many of the organisations on the Island are involved in communications in one form or another, although the new government has been stimulating the development of new businesses to serve the local community. At one time Ascension Island was a main relay point of the coaxial submarine cable system laid between the United Kingdom, Portugal and South Africa with links to South America and West Africa.Ó This cable system no longer operates. Instead, Cable and Wireless plc operate an international satellite telecommunications service and an internal telephone service.
In 1967 the BBC opened its Atlantic Relay Station broadcasting to Africa and South America.
The European Space Agency maintain and operate the "Ariane" Earth Station on the Island.

The Americans operate satellite tracking stations and other facilities.

In addition to the Royal Mail Ship (see above), there is a monthly shipping service from the United Kingdom by British Ministry of Defence chartered merchant navy vessels. An American supply ship calls about four times a year. And the island also welcomes passenger cruise ships and fishing vessels working Ascension's rich fishing grounds.

PHYSICAL
Ascension is a rocky peak of purely volcanic origin (44 distinct craters - all "dormant", i.e. not "extinct") with its base just west of the mid-Atlantic ridge. Much of the island is covered by basalt lava flows and cinder cones. The last major volcanic eruption took place about 600 years ago. The highest point (Green Mountain) at some 2817 ft is covered with lush vegetation which, with each rainy season is increasingly spreading throughout the island. There is a small farm near the peak which used to produce vegetables and pork but the ÏRed LionÓ farm building has now sadly fallen into disrepair. The Ascension Island Government Conservation Department is now using some of the former farm land as a nursery to promote the development of endemic species of flora.Ó
The climate on Ascension Island is subtropical.

CLIMATE
Temperatures at sea level are 68-88F and about 10F less on Green Mountain. Showers occur throughout the year with slightly heavier rains in the January-April period.

ANIMALS & BIRDS
The island is renowned for green turtles, which come ashore on the beaches from January to May to lay their eggs. It is also a breeding place for the sooty tern, or "wideawake", large numbers of which settle on the south-western coastal area (the "fairs") every tenth month to hatch their eggs. Other offshore nesting seabirds are boobies, Ascension frigate birds, Boatswain birds, petrels and noddies. Land birds comprise canaries, mynahs, francolins, waxbills and sparrows. The island is also home to feral donkeys, sheep, rabbits, two species of lizards, land crabs, rats and mice. All wild life except feral rats, mice and rabbits is protected by law. The ocean surrounding the island abounds with shark, wahoo, barracuda, tuna, bonita, sailfish, marlin and other game fish.

SEABIRD RESTORATION PROJECT
Over the last few years a major project has been carried out to increase areas where the islandÌs seabirds nest. This project, funded by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office with support from the Ascension Island Government and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, focused on the eradication of feral cats which predated on the nesting birds to a significant degree. The eradication programme has been successful and more seabird nest are being observed. A domestic cat population still exists although there are strict controls over the importation of cats to the island.


POPULATION
There is no indigenous population. The inhabitants of the island comprise the employees and families of the organisations working on the island. The population is about 1,100 - mostly Saint Helenians but with 200 United Kingdom and 150 US citizens.


ORGANISATIONS OPERATING ON ASCENSION
The BBC established an Atlantic Relay Station in 1966 to improve coverage of short- wave broadcasts to Africa and South America. In 1997 the BBC appointed Merlin Communications International to operate its Ascension facilities, including the island's power and fresh water plants.

Cable and Wireless plc have been present on the island since 1898 (until 1934 known as the Eastern Telegraph Company). The Senior Manager was responsible for day-to-day running of the Island's affairs from 1922 until the first Administrator was appointed in 1964. C&W provide the majority of the Island's telecommunication services.

Composite Signals Organisation (CSO) have been on the island since 1966.

The United States Air Force operates the Ascension Auxiliary Airfield ("Wideawake"), leased from the British Government in 1956, and the southernmost tracking station of the US Government Eastern Test Range. The USAF Contractor, Computer Sciences Raytheon (CSR) manages and operates all the USAF facilities on the island.

The MOD facility ÏThe Ascension Island BaseÓ Ò comes under the control of the Commander, British Forces in the South Atlantic who is based on the Falkland Islands. The base exists to maintain an air link between the United Kingdom and the Falklands. The MOD has subcontracted some operations to civilian contractors, including Interserve Ltd which maintains MOD facilities; SERCO Ltd manages the airport; Sodexho providing catering and domestic facilities. A former feature of Ascension was the permanently moored 70,000 tonne tanker offshore run by the Maersk Co (UK) which served as a bulk fuel facility but in December 2002 this was replaced by an on-shore Petroleum Supply Depot under MOD management.

The provision of public services on Ascension has undergone major reorganisations in recent years. Ascension Island Services (which was set up in 1984) was replaced in 2000 by the Ascension Island Government and a statutory body, Ascension Island Works & Services Agency. The Ascension Island Council came into existence following the first general election on Ascension on 1st November 2002. In April 2004 the Works & Services Agency was closed and a Public Works and Commercial Services Department was established within the administrative arm of government.

Policing on the island is provided by the Ascension detachment of the St Helena Police Force and banking facilities are provided by the Bank of St Helena.


SETTLEMENTS
There are five settlements on the Island. Georgetown the administrative capital and port; Two Boats village about three miles inland and situated at 600 feet is a residential area; Traveler's Hill is where the MOD garrison lives; Cat Hill is the US Base area and there is the Residency, the Red Lion and some cottages on Green Mountain. There is an Anglican church, St Mary's in Georgetown, a small Roman Catholic church, the "Grotto", and the remains of a mosque (which served Moslems from West Africa in the early days of occupation).


© Crown Copyright 2008, Ascension Island Government.