Robinson Crusoe Island, formerly known as Más a Tierra, is an island of the Chilean-controlled Juan Fernández archipelago, situated 674 kilometres west of South America in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is made up of three islands, Robinson Crusoe, Alejandro Selkirk and the small Santa Clara. It was here that the sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned in 1705 and lived in absolute solitude for four years and four months. The sailor inspired Daniel Defoe to write the classic novel, Robinson Crusoe. To reflect the literary lore associated with the island, the Chilean government named the location Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966.
Since 1977, these islands, World Biosphere Reserves, have been considered of maximum scientific importance because of the endemic species of flora and fauna (101 of the 146 native species of plants are endemic). The red hummingbird is most famous for its needle-fine black beak and silken feather coverage. Only Robinson Crusoe is populated with 500-600 inhabitants living in the village of San Juan Bautista. Although the community maintains a rustic serenity dependent on the spiny lobster trade, residents employ a few vehicles, a satellite internet connection, and many television sets. Tourists, still numbering in the hundreds per year, are visiting more. One activity gaining popularity is Scuba diving, particularly on the wreck of the German light cruiser SMS Dresden, which was scuttled in Cumberland Bay during the First World War.