Penguin Island (Antarctica)
| Penguin Island | ||
|---|---|---|
| Waters | Bransfield Street | |
| Archipelago | South Shetland Islands | |
| Geographical location | 62 ° 6 '9 " S , 57 ° 55' 33" W | |
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| length | 1.6 km | |
| Highest elevation |
Deacon Peak 170 m |
|
| Residents | uninhabited | |
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Penguin Island ( Spanish Isla Pingüino ), also known as Georges Island , is one of the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica .
geography
The oval island with a diameter of 1.6 kilometers is located one kilometer southeast of Turret Point on the south coast of King George Island and marks the eastern entrance to King George Bay . The highest point on the island is the dormant stratovolcano Deacon Peak with a height of 170 meters. There is a crater lake in the northeast . With the exception of a stretch of beach in the north, the island is surrounded by a low cliff .
Penguin Island is a geologically very young volcanic island , the current surface of which was probably only developed in the last few centuries. The last eruption is believed to have occurred in 1905.
history
Penguin Island was discovered in 1820 by the British explorer Edward Bransfield . Because a great number of penguins populated the coast of the island, he named them after them.
Flora and fauna
The vegetation consists mainly of lichens and mosses . Only the Antarctic Schmiele and the Antarctic Perlwort occur in higher species .
Chinstrap penguins and Adelie penguins breed on the island, as do giant petrels , antipodean terns , Dominican gulls and skuas , probably also white-faced sheaths and blue-footed petrels . BirdLife International therefore listed Penguin Island as an Important Bird Area (ANT064). The island lost this status after the decline of the giant petrel population in the 2000s.
Southern elephant seals and Weddell seals are common on flat stretches of coastline .
tourism
Penguin Island is regularly visited by smaller cruise ships (up to 200 passengers) in summer . Visitors go ashore on the flat north shore and climb Deacon Peak or visit the chinstrap colony.
Web links
- Penguin Island in the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution (English)
- Penguin Island (PDF; 392 kB), antarctic treaty visitor site guide (English)
- South Shetland Islands - Penguin Island ( Memento from April 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), Polar Conservation Organization (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ CM Harris et al .: Important Bird Areas in Antarctica 2015 , BirdLife International and Environmental Research & Assessment Ltd., Cambridge 2015, p. 82 f. (English)
- ↑ ACAP Breeding Site No. 88. Penguin Island, South Shetland Islands supports Southern Giant Petrels on Convention for the Protection of Albatrosses and Petrels , accessed July 23, 2018.