earth science

María de Lajara

María de Lajara is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand María de Lajara rather than just read about it. In short: María de Lajara or Laxara, or also María de La Jara, was a 17th-century Spanish woman, known for her tragic fate aboard the Manila Galleon and for her name having been attributed to a Pacific Ocean island. The story The story of María de Lajara's fate was published in 1699 by Gemelli Careri, in his work Giro del Mondo (Around the World).

Key takeaways

María de Lajara belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect María de Lajara to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of María de Lajara from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The story The story of María de Lajara's fate was published in 1699 by Gemelli Careri, in his work Giro del Mondo (Around the World). Careri wrote (in James Burney's translation): "Donna Maria de Lajara, a young Spanish woman, who in returning from Manila [to New Spain], not having patience to endure longer the inconveniences of the passages, threw herself into the sea". Maria de Lajara was very probably a descendant or relative of Juan de La Jara, Maestre de Campo (a high ranking army officer), who in 1596, after the death of Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa, led the initially failed Spanish conquest of the island of Mindanao. If so, she was in all likelihood born in Philippines.

The island Since the late 17th century up to the early 19th century, Pacific Ocean charts registered an island named Dona Maria de Lajara, or de Laxara, or even Maria Laxar around 27 degrees North latitude and 140 West from Greenwich longitude (that is East-northeast from Hawaii). As Gemelli wrote, such an island was supposedly near the place were María de Lajara hurled herself into the sea. However no island actually exists in that area and therefore it is presently catalogued as a phantom island. Another possibility, given the imprecise nature of geographical position in early modern times, is that Dona Maria de Lajara island could originally be one of the Bonin Islands, around 27 degrees North and 140 East from Greenwich. There is small volcanic island at this location. Those identifying the phantom island have perhaps mistakenly moved to the longitude to 140 West.

References Gemelli Careri, Voyage Round the World (London, 1704) James Burney, Chronological History of the Voyages and Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean (London, 1803–1817). Stommel, Henry (1984). Lost Islands: The Story of Islands That Have Vanished from Nautical Charts. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 0-7748-0210-3., p 67 Schurz, William Lytle. The Manila Galleon. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1939. Universidade de Coimbra, Ephemerides astronómicas calculadas para o meridiano do Observatorio da Universidade de Coimbra (Coimbra, 1804), p 182

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with María de Lajara

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what María de Lajara claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to María de Lajara before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about María de Lajara ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of María de Lajara

In research: María de Lajara appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses María de Lajara in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: María de Lajara is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 17th-century Spanish people, Islands of the Pacific Ocean, Phantom islands, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for María de Lajara outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study María de Lajara in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what María de Lajara means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain María de Lajara out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is María de Lajara in simple terms?

María de Lajara or Laxara, or also María de La Jara, was a 17th-century Spanish woman, known for her tragic fate aboard the Manila Galleon and for her name having been attributed to a Pacific Ocean island. The story The story of María de Lajara's fate was published in 1699 by Gemelli Careri, in his…

Why does María de Lajara matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study María de Lajara?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on María de Lajara.