Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is located approximately 350 kilometres south of Java and Sumatra and about 1,550 km north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. With an area of 135 square kilometres, Christm…
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is located approximately 350 kilometres south of Java and Sumatra and about 1,550 km north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. With an area of 135 square kilometres, Christmas Island's geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of interest to scientists and naturalists. The territory derives its name from its discovery on Christmas Day 1643 by Captain William Mynors.
Sovereign state: Australia
British annexation: 6 June 1888
Named for: Christmas Day, when it was first sighted by Europeans
Capital and largest city: Flying Fish Cove · ("The Settlement")
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