Portal:Islands

Southeast Farallon Islands from the west, with Maintop Island in the foreground (right)

The Farallon Islands (/færəlɔːn/ FA-ra-lon), or Farallones (from Spanish farallón 'pillar, sea cliff'), are a group of islands and sea stacks in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States. The islands are also sometimes referred to by mariners as the Devil's Teeth Islands, in reference to the many treacherous underwater shoals in their vicinity. The islands lie 30 miles (48 km) outside the Golden Gate and 20 miles (32 km) south of Point Reyes, and are visible from the mainland on clear days. The islands are part of the City and County of San Francisco. The only inhabited portion of the islands is on Southeast Farallon Island (SEFI), where researchers from Point Blue Conservation Science and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stay. The islands are closed to the public. (Full article...)

Malagasy cuisine encompasses the many diverse culinary traditions of the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar. Foods eaten in Madagascar reflect the influence of Southeast Asian, African, Oceanian, Indian, Chinese and European migrants that have settled on the island since it was first populated by seafarers from Borneo between 100 CE and 500 CE. Rice, the cornerstone of the Malagasy diet, was cultivated alongside tubers and other Southeast Asian and Oceanian staples by these earliest settlers. Their diet was supplemented by foraging and hunting wild game, which contributed to the extinction of the island's bird and mammal megafauna. These food sources were later complemented by beef in the form of zebu introduced into Madagascar by East African migrants arriving around 1,000 CE.

Trade with Arab and Indian merchants and European transatlantic traders further enriched the island's culinary traditions by introducing a wealth of new fruits, vegetables, and seasonings. Throughout almost the entire island, the contemporary cuisine of Madagascar typically consists of a base of rice served with an accompaniment; in the official dialect of the Malagasy language, the rice is termed vary ([ˈvarʲ]), and the accompaniment, laoka ([ˈlokə̥]). The many varieties of laoka may be vegetarian or include animal proteins, and typically feature a sauce flavored with such ingredients as ginger, onion, garlic, tomato, vanilla, salt, curry powder, or, less commonly, other spices or herbs. In parts of the arid south and west, pastoral families may replace rice with maize, cassava, or curds made from fermented zebu milk. (Full article...)

• ... that James Diossa rescued the only public library and post office in Central Falls, Rhode Island, when the city went into bankruptcy?
• ... that in the 1980s, when Moturoa Island lost all its endangered kiwi to pests, experts reintroduced seven birds – today there could be as many as 300 kiwi on the island?
• ... that scientists traveled thousands of miles to observe the solar eclipse of September 10, 1923, from Santa Catalina Island, but saw only clouds?
• ... that Bob Hobman recreated a possible sea journey by Palaeolithic humans after 130,000-year-old tools were found on the island of Crete?
• ... that the Hanta Road on Okinawa was used by both Ryukyuan armies and the U.S. Navy's Perry Expedition?
• ... that Oh My God, Charlie Darwin was recorded by the Low Anthem in ten days in a Block Island basement?