Nelson Island (Antarctica)
| Nelson Island | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Waters | Southern ocean | |
| Archipelago | South Shetland Islands | |
| Geographical location | 62 ° 17 ′ S , 59 ° 3 ′ W | |
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| length | 20 km | |
| width | 11 km | |
| surface | 192.1 km² | |
| Highest elevation | 150 m | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
Nelson Island (sometimes also known as Nelson's Island ) is a sub-Antarctic island in the archipelago of the South Shetland Islands , about 110 km off the Antarctic continent .
geography
Nelson Island is located southwest of King George Island , the largest island in the archipelago, from which it is separated by the only 400 meters wide Fildes Strait . It is separated from Robert Island in the southwest by the 10 km wide Nelson Strait . The island is 20 km long, up to 11 km wide and has an area of about 192 km². Around 90% of the island is glaciated , there are larger ice-free areas on the western tip and in the northeast of the island. The Czech research station ECO Nelson is located on Edgell Bay in the northeast .
environmental Protection
The Western Cape of the island, Harmony Point , is a 30.69 km² large area as a special protection area ( Antarctic Specially Protected Area ) No. Reported the 133rd The breeding colonies of twelve marine bird species located here are considered worthy of protection . Among them is one of the largest chinstrap penguin colonies with around 90,000 pairs.
history
The island was discovered by William Smith in October 1819 and roughly mapped a year later by Edward Bransfield and taken over as Nelson Island for the British Crown . It was probably named after the ship Nelson . On January 25, 1821, it was rediscovered by the Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and named Leipzig Island ( Ostrow Leipzig ) after the location of the Battle of Nations in 1813. The island was also briefly called O'Cain's Island among the seal beaters and was called Strachan Island by James Weddell . Ultimately, except in Russia, the name Nelson Island caught on.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b John Stewart: Antarctica - An Encyclopedia . Vol. 2, McFarland & Co., Jefferson and London 2011, ISBN 978-0-7864-3590-6 , p. 1091
- ↑ UNEP Islands (English)
- ^ Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty: Harmony Point, Nelson Island, South Shetland Islands (PDF; 468 kB), Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 133, 2012 (English)