Everything about King George Island totally explained
King George Island (Argentina:
Isla 25 de Mayo, Chile: Isla Rey Jorge,
Russian historical name -
Vaterlo (Waterloo)) is the largest of the
South Shetland Islands, situated at, 120 kilometers off the coast of
Antarctica in the
Southern Ocean. The Island was named after
King George III. It isn't to be confused with King George Island, a small uninhabited island off South Eastern
Tasmania, nor with
George Island in the
Falkland Islands.
The island was first claimed for
Britain on
16 October 1819, formally annexed by
Britain and claimed as part of the
Falkland Islands Dependencies in 1908, and now as part of the separate
British Antarctic Territory. The Island was claimed by
Chile in 1940, now as part of the
Chilean Antarctic Territory. It was claimed also by
Argentina in 1943, now as part of
Argentine Antarctica, called by the Argentines
Isla Veinticinco de Mayo in honour of their National day. The
USA and
Russia don't recognize these claims, and have formally reserved their right to claim Antarctic territories.
The island was discovered by the
British explorer
William Smith in 1819. It is approximately 95 kilometres long and 25 kilometres wide with a land area of 1150 square kilometres. Over 90% of the island's surface is permanently
glaciated. In 1821, 11 men of the sailing vessel
Lord Melville survived the winter on the island, the first men to do so in
Antarctica.
The coastal areas of the island are home to a comparatively diverse selection of
vegetation and animal life, including
Elephant Seals,
Weddell and
Leopard seals, and
Chinstrap and
Gentoo penguins.
Human habitation of King George Island is limited to research stations belonging to
Argentina,
Brazil,
Chile,
China,
South Korea,
Peru,
Poland,
Russia, and
Uruguay. Most of these stations are permanently manned, carrying out research into areas as diverse as
biology,
ecology,
geology, and
palaeontology.
In 2004, a
Russian Orthodox church,
Trinity Church, was opened on the island near Russia's
Bellingshausen Station. The church, one of the southernmost in the world and one of the few permanent structures in Antarctica, is permanently manned by a priest.
A small amount of specialised
tourist activity also takes place during summer, including an annual
marathon, known as the Antarctic marathon.
The Fildes Peninsula 7 km long (4.5 mi), forms the SW extremity of the island. It was named from association with nearby
Fildes Strait by the
UK-APC in 1960.
The pop/rock band
Fall Out Boy will be playing on King George Island on March 26th 2008, making them the only band to play in all 7 continents with in the time space of 9 months, earning them a
Guiness World Record. Originally, the event was planned for March 25th, but due to worsening weather conditions overnight, their trip was postponed, as there would be no flights on or off the island during the storm. This performance will follow a qualifying show for South America in Santiago, Chile, originally slated for
Victor Galpon Jara but has now been moved to a larger venue at
Teatro Teleton. The show is a publicity stunt for
Greenpeace, designed to raise awareness about Global Warming.
Further Information
Get more info on 'King George Island'.
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