Coronation Island

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Coronation Island

South Orkney Islands
(British Antarctic Territory)


Leucistic Antarctic fur seal on Coronation Island
Location

Coronation Island

Location: 60°37’59"S, 45°34’59"W
Area: 173 square miles
Highest point: Mount Nivea
Data
Population: Uninhabited

Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, 25 nautical miles long and from 3 to 8 nautical miles wide. The island extends in a general east-west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest being Mount Nivea, which rises to 4150 feet.

History

The island was discovered in December 1821, in the course of the joint cruise by Captain Nathaniel Palmer, an American sealer, and Captain George Powell, a British sealer. Powell named the island in honour of the coronation of George IV, who had become king of the United Kingdom in 1820.

Antarctic Specially Protected Area

An area of some 35½ square miles of north-central Coronation Island has been designated an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA 114), mainly for use as a relatively pristine reference site for use in comparative studies with more heavily impacted sites. It extends northwards from Brisbane Heights and Wave Peak in the central mountains to the coast between Conception Point in the west to Foul Point in the east. Most of the land in the site is covered by glacial ice, with small areas of ice-free terrain along the coast.

Birds known to breed within the site include chinstrap penguins, Cape petrels and snow petrels.[1]

Major features

Many geographic features on and around Coronation Island have been charted and named by various exploration and survey groups.

  • The island's northwest point is called Penguin Point.
  • Several named rock formations are located offshore just west of Penguin Point, including the:
    • Melsom Rocks
    • Despair Rocks
    • Lay-brother Rock

The island's irregular coast is indented by a great number of bays.

Other features

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Coronation Island)

References

  1. "Northern Coronation Island, South Orkney Islands". Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 114: Measure 2, Annex. Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. 2003. http://www.ats.aq/documents/recatt/Att156_e.pdf. Retrieved 2013-09-22. 
The South Orkney Islands, in the British Antarctic Territory

Ailsa CraigCoronation IslandFredriksen IslandGovernor IslandsInaccessible IslandsLarsen IslandsLaurie IslandLynch IslandMoe IslandOliphant IslandsPowell IslandRobertson IslandsSaddle IslandSigny IslandWeddell Islands