Wilhelm Archipelago
The Wilhelm Archipelago is a group of small islands lying off the west coast of Graham Land in the British Antarctic Territory.
The archipelago consists of numerous islets and small islands: the accepted definition of the group is that it consists of all the islands and rocks north and west of the Graham Coast south of the Bismarck Strait and north of the Southwind Passage. To the north is Anvers Island and the rest of the Palmer Archipelago and to the south are the Biscoe Islands. The Wilhelm Archipelago extends west to Lumus Rock and including from north to south the following islands and sub-groups: the Wauwermans Islands, the Dannebrog Islands, the Myriad Islands, Booth Island, Hovgaard Island, the Vedel Islands, Petermann Island, the Roca Islands, the Cruls Islands, the Anagram Islands, the Argentine Islands, the Jalour Islands, the Betbeder Islands and off-lying islets.
The largest islands in the group are Booth Island and Hovgaard Island.
The western islands of this archipelago were sighted by Biscoe in February 1832. The archipelago was roughly charted by Eduard Dallmann's German Antarctic Expedition in January 1874 and named 'Kaiser Wilhelm Inseln' Wilhelm II, then Emperor of Germany. Markham's map of 1885 named the islands the 'Emperor William Islands' and Bartholomew's of 1898 as the 'Kaiser Wilhelm Islands', but numerous varients have appeared on maps since then. The most northerly islands were photographed from the air by the Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition of 1956-57.
See also
Location
- Location map:65°7’60"S, 64°19’60"W
References
- Gazetteer and Map of The British Antarctic Territory: Wilhelm Archipelago
