La Perouse Pinnacle

La Perouse Pinnacle is a volcanic pinnacle located in the French Frigate Shoals about midway in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands approximately 3 miles WSW of East Island, Hawaii.[1] It is the oldest and most remote volcanic rock in the Hawaiian Islands. La Perouse Pinnacle stands 120 ft (37 m) tall. It is surrounded by coral reefs and a shorter, rocky islet about 5–10 feet (1.5–3 meters) tall. Because of its distinct shape, the pinnacle can be mistaken for a ship from a distance.

La Perouse Pinnacle
La Perouse Pinnacle

It has been called a "volcanic rock islet" and is known for its central position in the French Frigate Shoals between north and south sides of atoll.[2] The pinnacle is visible from a distance of about 8 miles (12.8 km) away at sea.[3]

The rock is named for Comte de La Pérouse, who came across the shoals in 1786.[4][5]

The Pinnacle is composed mainly of very hard volcanic type rock, and the island is thought to be the remains of a volcano from millions of years ago.[6]

In 1923 on the Tanager expedition it was visited and determined to be olivine basalt rock.[7]

The pinnacle's resemblance to a sailing ship at distance nearly caused the wrecking of the sailing ship Rebecca in the 19th century.[8] The whaling ship Rebecca sighted the pinnacle at nightfall, but mistook it for a sailing ship and tried to signal with it.[9] When the signals were not returned the Rebecca headed towards the ship to investigate, but soon ran into the reef.[10] The ship survived the encounter with shoals, and was able to ascertain the nature of the Pinnacle in the morning.[11]

The pinnacle was a noted landmark by sailor's conducting a search for a lost sailor in the late 2010s, and was noted in an article in the sailing magazine Cruising World in 2018.[12]

References
  1. NOAA Chart 19401
  2. Sailing Directions for the Pacific Islands (Eastern Groups): Volume II. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1940.
  3. Sailing Directions for the Pacific Islands (Eastern Groups): Volume II. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1940.
  4. "French Frigate Shoals". Archived from the original on 2007-02-13. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  5. "Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument".
  6. "Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument".
  7. Amerson, A. Binion (1971). "The natural history of French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands" (PDF). Atoll Research Bulletin. 150: 1–383. doi:10.5479/SI.00775630.150.1. S2CID 129044723. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-01.
  8. North Pacific Pilot: The seaman's guide to the islands of the North Pacific by W.H. Rosser. James Imray & Son. 1870.
  9. North Pacific Pilot: The seaman's guide to the islands of the North Pacific by W.H. Rosser. James Imray & Son. 1870.
  10. North Pacific Pilot: The seaman's guide to the islands of the North Pacific by W.H. Rosser. James Imray & Son. 1870.
  11. North Pacific Pilot: The seaman's guide to the islands of the North Pacific by W.H. Rosser, Page 55. 1870
  12. Cruising World - Searching for a Lost Sailor 2018


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