Evangelistas Islets
Native name: Islotes Evangelistas | |
|---|---|
Photo of the islets by George Henry Slight, the arrow indicating the site of the lighthouse | |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 52°23′10″S 75°05′12″W / 52.386025°S 75.086615°W |
| Adjacent to | Pacific Ocean |
| Total islands | 4 |
| Administration | |
| Region | Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena |
| Province | Última Esperanza |
| Commune | Puerto Natales |
| Additional information | |
| NGA UFI=-882479 | |
The Evangelistas Islets (Spanish: Islotes Evangelistas) are a group of four small, rocky islands lying on the Chilean continental shelf, some 30 km north-west of the western entrance to the Strait of Magellan, in the south-eastern Pacific Ocean, facing the full force of the "Furious Fifties". They come under the jurisdiction of the Chilean Navy which operates the Chilean Maritime Signalling Service and has maintained a presence there since the establishment of the Evangelistas Lighthouse in 1896 by Scottish engineer George Henry Slight.
On February 17, 1676, sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate's expedition were lost at Evangelistas Islets while attempting to install a bronze plaque indicating the areas ownership by the King of Spain.