Ukupseni or Uggubseni , also called Playón Chico , is one of the most populous islands in the Guna Yala territory of Panama , 100 metres (330 ft) from the mainland. The literal translation for Ukupseni is 'little beach' in English , or playa chica in Spanish , thus Playón Chico is a mistranslation, which means roughly 'Little Big Beach'.
25-457: Ukupseni is a small island, roughly 0.06 km. The population of the island is 1,849, which gives Ukupseni a population density of around 30,000 people per km, resulting in Ukupseni being one of the most densely populated islands . Ukupseni is populated by Kuna . The typical housing structure is a "pole"-style thatch hut, which will house an entire family. Building materials are tree trunks for
50-617: A Scottish sailor named Alexander Selkirk , who was rescued in 1709 after four years on the otherwise uninhabited Juan Fernández Islands ; Defoe usually made use of current events for his plots. It is also likely that he was inspired by the Latin or English translations of Ibn Tufail's Hayy ibn Yaqdhan . Noel Paul Stookey sang a song about living on a desert island called "On a Desert Island (With You in My Dreams)" on Peter, Paul & Mary 's 1965 album: " See What Tomorrow Brings ". Tom Neale
75-415: A bridge or a tunnel. Continental landmasses are not usually classified as islands despite being completely surrounded by water. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this list, mainland Australia along with the other major landmasses have been listed as continental landmasses for comparison. The figures are approximations and are for the four major continental landmasses only. Accurate density estimates for
100-614: A density of over 1,000 people/km (2,600 people/sq mi), meaning at least one island must have over 1,000 people/km (2,600 people/sq mi). However, there is no available data for the individual islands. There are numerous uninhabited or deserted islands . The largest uninhabited island in the world is Devon Island in Canada . The list contains islands with densities below 0.1/km (0.26/sq mi). Note that many of these populations are non-permanent. Desert island An uninhabited island , desert island , or deserted island ,
125-432: A few miles due east. The mainland communities of Irgandi and Ukupa lie to the northwest. 9°18′41″N 78°13′58″W / 9.31139°N 78.23278°W / 9.31139; -78.23278 List of islands by population density The following is a list of islands , sorted by population density , and including islands that are connected to other land masses by a route other than sea or air, such as
150-522: A few survivors stranded on the island cannot expect rescue and must rely on their own resources - embarking on a grim life-and-death struggle. The top "dream vacation" for heterosexual men surveyed by Psychology Today was "marooned on a tropical island with several members of the opposite sex". In 1820, the crew of the British whaler Essex spent time on uninhabited British Henderson Island . There they gorged on birds, fish, and vegetation and found
175-599: A few yards across with a single palm tree (probably due to the visual constraints of the medium). 17 such cartoons appeared in The New Yorker in 1957 alone. A special variation of the desert island theme appears in H.G.Wells's The War in the Air . As part of the cataclysmic global war depicted, the bridges linking Goat Island in the middle of the Niagara Falls to the mainland are cut, and with civilization fast breaking down
200-437: A freshwater lens can be reached with a well. Uninhabited islands are sometimes also called "deserted islands" or "desert islands". In the latter, the adjective desert connotes not desert climate conditions, but rather "desolate and sparsely occupied or unoccupied". The word desert has been "formerly applied more widely to any wild, uninhabited region, including forest-land", and it is this archaic meaning that appears in
225-587: A larger income for fishermen and handicraft sellers, being the Mola the most famous handicraft of the Kunas. Ukupseni, along with the vast majority of the rest of the San Blas Islands lies atop a coral reef that has broken the surface of the ocean. This island is enlarged constantly by people depositing earth, rock, waste, or other debris in order to create a large living area on the island. The elevation of these islands
250-521: A new society. This society can either be utopian , based on an ingenious re-creation of society's comforts (as in Swiss Family Robinson and, in a humorous form, Gilligan's Island ) or a regression into savagery (the major theme of both Lord of the Flies and The Beach ). Desert island jokes are also a hugely popular image for gag cartoons , the island being conventionally depicted as just
275-634: A small freshwater spring. After one week, they had depleted the island's resources and most of the crew left on three whaleboats , while three of the men decided to remain on the island and survived there for four months until their rescue. Survivors of the British Strathmore survived for 7 months at a small island of the French Crozet Islands from 1875 to 1876. They survived from eating eggs and flesh of geese, albatrosses and other seabirds. The also ate root vegetables and fish. The survival
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#1733093253701300-421: Is about 1 1 ⁄ 2 feet above sea level. Local tides in the area fluctuate the level of the water by 4–11 inches. Occasionally a "super-high tide" of about 18 inches will saturate the outer parts of the island. There are several reef islands in close proximity to Ukupseni. Most are not inhabited, but some have tourist hotels on them. The closest populated island is San Ignacio de Tupile ,
325-543: Is an island , islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes for the idea of " paradise ". Some uninhabited islands are protected as nature reserves , and some are privately owned. Devon Island in Canada's far north is the largest uninhabited island in the world. Small coral atolls or islands usually have no source of fresh water , but occasionally
350-626: Is located on the mainland adjacent to the island. Ukupseni is only reachable by plane, boat, or by foot. There is no road to Ukupseni. There is now a bridge connecting Ukupseni to the mainland. This is extremely useful, as the majority of local agriculture, schooling, the airport, and potable water are on the mainland. Aside from the bridge, the second most popular form of transportation is the cayuco (hollowed-out tree canoe ). Cayucos range in sizes and styles. Extremely large cayucos , some more than 4 ft wide are used, and others vary in size down to one-person boats. A typical cayuco
375-498: Is similar to a Western-style canoe. Even though cayukos travel in the ocean, they do not have a lateral brace and balance as found on Polynesian ocean-going craft . A distinct, low-profile cayuco is used for navigating rivers. Ukupseni is mostly autonomous, in that it grows most of its own food. Colombian ships travel through Kuna Yala, and Kunas sell coconuts in exchange for goods, including hammocks and other supplies. Lobster, crab, and fish are sold to seafood airplanes on
400-447: The (supposed) absence of terrestrial predators such as cats or rats . However, tons of waste from far away countries accumulate on their beaches from the sea, and the absence of surveillance also makes them desirable spots for poachers of protected species. Most of the largest uninhabited islands are many kilometers/miles inside the Arctic or Antarctic circles, indicating that
425-619: The Ukupseni airstrip. Community projects are conducted by the local government for various needs throughout the year, and every citizen is required to help. There are two lodges in private islands nearby, Yandup island (1000 meters northeast) and Iskardup (Sapibenega) island. Both are owned and run by Kunas from Ukupseni, as it is part of the Kuna law that only Kunas can own businesses in Kuna Yala. These lodges also provide jobs as guides, cooks, handymen, maids and other works to Ukupseni's inhabitants, plus
450-521: The island. A Latin translation of Ibn Tufail's Hayy ibn Yaqdhan appeared in 1671, prepared by Edward Pococke the Younger, followed by an English translation by Simon Ockley in 1708, as well as German and Dutch translations. In the late 17th century, Hayy ibn Yaqdhan inspired Robert Boyle , an acquaintance of Pococke, to write his own philosophical novel set on a deserted island, The Aspiring Naturalist . Ibn al-Nafis' Theologus Autodidactus
475-498: The main pillars, bamboo poles for support, and various types of leaves for the roof. Walls are typically lashed bamboo or caña blanca (cane). A well-constructed hut can stand for as long as 30 years. The elderly will often be cared for by their children, and so one family dwelling will often house several generations. Ukupseni lays approximately 100 metres (330 ft) from the Panama mainland. Playón Chico Airport ( IATA : PYC )
500-555: The outside world who are stranded on the island. The story of Theologus Autodidactus , however, extends beyond the deserted island setting when the castaways take Kamil back to civilization with them. William Shakespeare 's 1610–11 play, The Tempest , uses the idea of being stranded on a desert island as a pretext for the action of the play. Prospero and his daughter Miranda are set adrift by Prospero's treacherous brother Antonio, seeking to become Duke of Milan , and Prospero in turn shipwrecks his brother and other men of sin onto
525-557: The phrase "desert island". The term "desert island" is also commonly used figuratively to refer to objects or behavior in conditions of social isolation and limited material means. Behavior on a desert island is a common thought experiment , for example, "desert island morality". Desert islands are partly sheltered from humans, making them havens for a number of fragile wildlife species such as sea turtles and ground-nesting seabirds . Many species of seabirds use them as stopovers on their way or especially for nesting, taking advantage of
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#1733093253701550-582: The reason for their desertedness is the freezing climate. The first known novels to be set on a desert island were Hayy ibn Yaqdhan written by Ibn Tufail (1105–1185), followed by Theologus Autodidactus written by Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288). The protagonists in both (Hayy in Hayy ibn Yaqdhan and Kamil in Theologus Autodidactus ) are feral children living in seclusion on a deserted island, until they eventually come in contact with castaways from
575-480: The very small islands (less than 1 square kilometre or 0.39 square miles) are hard to obtain because population as well as landmass are often only estimates. Additionally, the populations of these islands are often highly transient, with many residents also maintaining a residence on a larger landmass and only living on the island seasonally. 6°27′12″N 3°24′27″E / 6.45333°N 3.40750°E / 6.45333; 3.40750 These archipelagos have
600-630: Was a New Zealander who voluntarily spent 16 years in three sessions in the 1950s and 1960s living alone on the island of Suwarrow in the Northern Cook Islands group. His time there is documented in his autobiography, An Island To Oneself . In the popular conception, such islands are often located in the Pacific , tropical , uninhabited and usually uncharted. They are remote locales that offer escape and force people marooned or stranded as castaways to become self-sufficient and essentially create
625-411: Was also eventually translated into English in the early 20th century. Published in 1719, Daniel Defoe 's novel Robinson Crusoe , about a castaway on a desert island, has spawned so many imitations in film, television and radio that its name was used to define a genre, Robinsonade . The novel features Man Friday , Crusoe's personal assistant. It is likely that Defoe took inspiration for Crusoe from
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