Pickersgill Islands

Pickersgill Islands
South Georgia (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands)
Location
Location:	54°37’0"S, 36°45’0"W
Data
Population:	0

The Pickersgill Islands are a small archipelago to the west of the main island of South Georgia. They are 15 miles southeast of Annenkov Island and 9 miles west-southwest of Leon Head, South Georgia.

Naming

Annenkov Island was discovered in January 1775 by a British expedition under Cook, who named it "Pickersgills Island" for Lieutenant Richard Pickersgill of the expedition ship HMS Resolution. It was in 1819 by a Russian expedition under Bellingshausen, who, thinking he was the discoverer of the island, named it Annenkov Island for Lieutenant Mikhail Annenkov, officer on the expedition ship.

The Pickersgill Islands, meanwhile were discovered in 1819 by a Russian expedition under Bellingshausen, who charted the largest feature of the group as Pickersgill Island, erroneously thinking it to be the island sighted in 1775 by Captain James Cook and named for Lieutenant Richard Pickersgill of the expedition ship Resolution. The name "Pickersgill" was thus transferred from Annenkov Island, to this archipelago 15 miles to its southeast and here it has remained as the established usage ever since.

References

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