Petermann Island
| Petermann Island | |
 Petermann Island from a distance | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Location: | 65°10’0"S, 64°10’0"W |
| Data | |
Petermann Island is a small, low and rounded island in the Wilhelm Archipelago lying off the northwest coast of Kiev Peninsula of Graham Land in the British Antarctic Territory. It lies a short distance south of Booth Island and the Lemaire Channel. It is a tourist destination for Antarctic cruises.
Description
The island is a mile long and just over half a mile across. It rises steeply to elevations of up to 820 feet from a rocky coastline with raised pebble beaches.
The island has volcanic origins, with about half the land surface covered by a permanent, crevassed icecap. Ice-free areas have a sparse vegetation of mosses and lichens.[1]
Important Bird Area
The island has been identified as an 'Important Bird Area' by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of about 3,000 pairs of gentoo penguins. Other birds nesting at the site in smaller numbers include Adélie penguins, imperial shags, Wilson's storm petrels and south polar skuas.[1]
History
The island was discovered by a German expedition of 1873-74, which named it after the German geographer August Petermann. The French Antarctic Expedition of 1908-10 wintered over aboard ship in a cove on the south-east side of the island (which they named Port Circumcision because it was spotted on 1 January 1909, the traditional day for the Feast of the Circumcision.
Huts built by the French expedition are gone, although a cairn remains, along with a refuge hut built by Argentina in 1955, and a cross commemorating three members of the British Antarctic Survey who died in a 1982 attempt to cross the sea ice from to Petermann from Faraday Station (then a British Antarctic Survey base, sold in the 1990s).
Outside links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Petermann Island IBA: BirdLife International
- Gazetteer and Map of The British Antarctic Territory: Petermann Island
