Jonassen Island
| Jonassen Island | |
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| Location: | 63°32’33"S, 56°41’0"W |
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Jonassen Island is a small island of the Joinville Island Group, off the north-eastern tip of Graham Land in the British Antarctic Territory. It is observed to be a particularly rocky island, two and a half miles long.
Jonasson is found to the north of Andersson Island, separated from Tabarin Peninsula of the Trinity Peninsula, by Fridtjof Sound and from Andersson Island by Yalour Sound.
Discovery and naming
The island was roughly charted by the French Antarctic Expedition of 1837-40, on 27 February 1838, at which time the name IÎle Rosamel was applied collectively to this island and Andersson Island.
The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1902 commanded by Otto Nordenskiöld charted this island as a separate island on 15 January 1902.
Nordenskiöld first named the island ‘Irizar Island’ in honour of the Argentine captain whose ship Uruguay rescued the Swedish Antarctic Expedition in 1903 after their ship Antarctic had been crushed by ice. A year later though, another island off Graham Land was named '[Irizar Island|Irizar]]'(an island in the Wilhelm Archipelago). Because the latter was a larger island and its name had become common usage, the smaller island was renamed for Ole Jonassen, who accompanied Nordenskiöld on his two major sledge journeys in 1902-3.
Wildlife
The main life form on the island are gentoo penguins and kelp gulls. Both species have established breeding colonies on the island. Adélie and chinstrap penguins as well as pintado and snow petrels have been observed around or flying about the island. A 1901 observation listed the Adélie has having nested on the island; the claim has not been substantiated in modern surveys.
See also
References
- Gazetteer and Map of The British Antarctic Territory: Jonassen Island
