Quick viewing(Text Mode)

SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS Runway Atthewhalingstationin1928

SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS Runway Atthewhalingstationin1928

runway atthewhalingstationin1928. Sandefjord. Deceptionisalsothesite whichtookofffroma ofthefirstflightinAntarctica, the remains ofawhalingstationonceknowntoitslargely Norwegian inhabitantsasNew sidered Ontheshore tohave ‘a significantvolcanicrisk.’ ofits hiddeninnerharborare climbed in1996byagroupfromtheCanadian yacht cover 3688sqkm.The archipelago’shighestpointisSmithIsland’sMtFoster (2105m),first Rock, SalientConicalRockandThe Pointers. The islandsare about80%glaciated and , HoleRock,StumpSeaLeopard Patch, Square EndIsland,The Pig Watchkeeper, Islands; andSmithLowIslandsare atthesouthwestern endofthechain. Greenwich, Livingston,SnowandDeception ofRobert, Nelson Islandsare justnortheast groupings:Clarence Georgedistinct King and andElephantIslandsare inthenortheast; asafarewell region. totheAntarctic northward usually onthewaysouthastrip’sexcitingfirstlandings,andoften againonthereturn Peninsula.is justhalfaday’scruiseacrosstheBransfieldStraitfromAntarctic the SouthShetlandsare mostvisited oneofAntarctica’s areas. This majorgroupofislands Thanks scenery,abundantwildlife totheirspectacular andproximity toTierra delFuego, Islands South Shetland 208 © LonelyPlanetPublications Most distinctive oftheSouthShetlandsisDeceptionIsland,a‘restless’ volcanostillcon- There are androcks,manywithpicturesque also150-oddislets,skerries names:Potmess The tosouthwestandconsistoffour SouthShetlandsstretch 540kmfromnortheast Every Peninsula voyagefromSouthAmericatothe stopsintheSouthShetlands,

„ „ „ „ „ HIGHLIGHTS

Searchfortheoccasionalmacaroni Watchgentoos nest-building and Brave thesurging swelltoreach Deception Zodiaccruiseoff Chatwithwinterovers atoneofeight more than fourdifficultmonths Hannah nestingamong thechinstrapsat the AitchoIslands chick-rearing at Head Island’s giant at chinstraprookery Shackleton’s ,where membersof George Island stationson countries’ Antarctic ( p220) ( p216 ) onLivingstonIsland ( p210) expeditionsurvived 20) on ( p210) King Baily 24) in ( p214) Northanger Islands Aitcho Island Deception King George . Island Elephant Island

63ºS 209

62ºS Island Clarence Island Cornwallis Point Valentine Sarah W Hunt Sarah Cape Lookout Seal Gibbs Island Island Island Elephant 00 60 km 40 miles 56ºW Bridgeman Island 56ºW Penguin Island An incredible 91 sealing in operated ships An incredible Smith returned to the South for a Shetlands to the South Smith returned 58ºW reported taking in a season just 39 skins of reported a century before sealers visited the islands the islands sealers visited a century before From 1871–74 a numbers. again in great American sealing returned handful of ships to kill anew, taking another 33,000 fur seals populations. By from the slowly recovering 1888–89 the American sealer coast of the (which he dis- (which the Antarctic Peninsula coast of Bransfield Bransfield’s name. bears covered) Island (January landed on both King George 4) Island (February 22, 1820) and Clarence King to claim them for the new sovereign, George IV. fifth time during the summer season 1820– of 21, this time on a sealing designed to voyage – a goal harvest a rich reap from his he certainly alone vessels His two achieved. skins. took an extraordinary 60,000 fur-seal during that season,the South Shetlands most or American. The predict- them British of almost com- the fur seals were able result: 1821. It was half gone by the end of pletely the island group and today the strait between and the northwestern the South Shetlands

King Island George Nelson Island See King George Island & Nelson Island Map (p211) Williams D r a k e P a s s a g e D r a k e P a s s a Prat () Island Capitán Arturo 58ºW Harbor Yankee 60ºW Aitcho Islands See Map (p217) Island Livingston Point Hannah Sail Rock from Captain Smith and Island Desolation SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS •• History O C E A N Byers S O U T H E R N S O U T H E R Peninsula Williams was blown off course while round- 60ºW Low Island Snow Island

Rugged Island 62ºW

(2105m) Smith During the summer of 1819–20, the sen- During the summer of Island On Christmas Day that same year, the first On Christmas Day that same year, the first Mt Foster SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS SHETLAND SOUTH

62ºS

61ºS History History , sailing in the British ship William Smith, sailing in the British ship naval officer. Smith and Bransfield surveyed officer. naval chartered as seniorEdward Bransfield aboard placed of , William Henry Shirreff, Shirreff, South America, William Henry of next year. coast officer for the western naval ior British acted quickly.) This vessel was the advance quickly.) This vessel acted that proceeded navy party for a veritable to descend upon the seal-rich islands the British sealing ship arrived – with Joseph – with Joseph British sealing arrived ship who had been of the mate Herring, claiming the islands for King George III. George claiming the islands for King the islands. He returned later in the year and in the year later returned the islands. He 17, Island on October landed on King George his return from Chile he headed south again, his return but this time was too far west and missed obvi- (He discovered. when the islands were a fortune – and to make ously saw his chance ing for Valparaiso, Chile, and Chile, and ing CapeHorn for Valparaiso, 19, 1819, the islands on February discovered but made no landing. Sailing eastward on Williams, lonelyplanet.com 62ºW SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS blance to anelephant’shead and trunk. bearsThe islanditself asuperficialresem- ofbecause itsabundance of elephantseals. whofirstsealers charted itintheearly1820s, ElephantIsland’by theBritish named ‘Sea Shetlands’ northeastern end.Itwasoriginally Elephant Islandislocated attheSouth ELEPHANT ISLAND landings. no It visited againin1974and1975,butmade South Shetlands andthePeninsula in1973. Cabo Roque San ship theSpanishcruise ists totheAntarctic, Shetlands. Intheearliestmass visitof tour- Navarino Argentine ship in January andFebruary 1958.In1959the Les Eclaireurs bytheArgentine toAntarctica, cruises ship Peninsula.the Antarctic Twoof theearliest 1956, flewover theSouthShetlands and Chilein byLAN touristflight, Antarctic place intheSouthShetlands. Thefirst claims. territorial Chile naturallyprotested, sincetheyhadrival Peninsula.or theAntarctic and Orkneys, SouthGeorgia andGrahamLand, age fortheSouthShetlands, stamps South andissued post- lished permanentstations and tounderscore itssovereignty. Itestab- steps inthe islandstodetect enemyraiders war inEurope,theBritishgovernment took and Catherine were more wrecks: decades,there thesucceeding 1821. Over within justthree years 1819and between CoraTroubridge, Six ships – treacherous waters, there were manywrecks. withsomanyvessels operatinginsuch seals: discoveries were reported. groundswasalwaysasecret, nosuch sealing over, thefindingof butbecause untouched ered’ Peninsula theAntarctic times several Bransfield Straitarea. Theyprobably ‘discov- musthavethe sealers ranged the throughout found just 41. andtwoyearsSouth Shetland later, sealing, 210 Some of thefirst tourismtook Antarctic Death visited aswellthe thesealers As unexploited newislands, theysought In 1944,despite having itshandsfullwith Professor Gruvel SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS••ElephantIsland SOUTH SHETLAND bothtookpassengers totheSouth (1847), ,San Ann,Clothier, Lady , reached theSouthShetlands Yapeyú carried900passengers tothe and Lion Richard Henry (1927). (1854), Venus andtheChileanvessel –allfoundered Graham (1845), (1924) Powell, there are chinstrap, gentoo and the southerncoastcharted in1822by visiting on a passenger yacht.visiting onapassenger Theywore where surfed here inFebruary 2000while Shetlands in 1877. Charles Shearer was theremains ship, of aConnecticutsealing Endurance Nordenskjöld’s ined in1999,raisinghopesthatitwasfrom found onthesouthwestern coastwasexam- years old–withpeatnearly 3m deep. old mosscolonies,dated atmore than2000 . macaroni and chinstraps to go ashore. the beach maybetoocrowdedwithfurseals prevents Zodiactours, even andifitiscalm, are –heavy surfoften difficult 1916. Landings commemorates therescue onAugust30, mander of theChileannavy cutter monolith withabustof PilotoPardo, com- men lived beneathtwoupturnedboats,a (the island’seasternmost point),where the pack ice,spent135days.At their ship wascrushed intheWeddellSea Endurance another, are here King George because Island of somewithinwalkingdistance one stations, PeruvianGerman, The andUSsummer bases. and tracks.There are alsoDutch, Ecuadorian, all connected bymore than20km of roads , ,RussiaandUruguay, byArgentina,maintained ,Chile,, ice-free, yetitsupports year-round stations than10%ofLess theisland’s1295sqkmis first for manytourists. stopintheAntarctic is thelargest of theSouthShetlands andthe crowdedontoit,King Georgestations Island nationalwinter thankstotheeight capital, KING GEORGEISLAND crowded. get unlikely thattheline-up willever it seems the southwestern tipof LowIsland – but –thebesttheyfoundwasat in ’ They later reported that‘there’s good surf and drysuitswithspeciallyfitted hoods. neoprenefleece-lined undersuits, oversuits northern coast10kmwestof Valentine Cape unofficialSometimes calledAntarctica’s Wreckage of vessel awoodensailing At It washere that22members of Shackleton’s A groupof surfers fromtheUSandelse- Elephant Islandisalsohometosomevery Cape Lookout Cape expedition,strandedin1915after . Subsequent tests. Subsequent suggest thatit Antarctic , lostenroute totheSouth , a 240m-high bluff on bluff , a240m-high , or even Shackleton’s, oreven Point Wild lonelyplanet.com , , onthe

SOUTH SHETLAND 62º20'S ISLANDS in in 211 Cape Bay Melville 62º00'S Destruction A2 A2 A2 C2 A3 B3 B3 A2 D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Bay Sherratt Point Turret Penguin Island Peak 00 20 km 12 miles (170m) Deacon (sauna), showers and wash- (sauna), showers Island Ridley Bay King 58º00'W George banya Antarctic Stations (Poland)...... B2 Artigas ()...... Bellingshausen ()...... Chang Cheng (China)...... Commandante Ferraz (Brazil)...... Eco-Nelson (Independent)...... Jubany (Argentina)...... King Sejong (South Korea)...... Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva (Chile)... Island Bellingshausen popu- has a normal winter Russia is working with South Korea to out- Russia is working with South Korea Russia set up its clean- The station underwent a remarkable King George beach in front of the station and removed the station and removed in front of beach season since to Uruguay and the UK. Every have waste then, small additional amounts of been removed. fit and staff a laboratory at Bellingshausen, 1968 on the nearly ice-free Fildes Peninsula 1968 on the nearly ice-free a fuel- tip. After at the island’s southwestern tank farm was established, the station became Antarctic fuel depot for the Soviet a major fishing fleet. capac- its maximum only 13, despite lation of 15 one-story 50. The station consists of ity of and built on and red, silver buildings painted stilts. The in the power station, located are ing machines using the waste is produced warm water where the generators. heat from than 1350 tonnes of up in 2002, with more from the scrap metal cleared and other waste and , and is the first facility in Antarctica designed as a research multinational laboratory. Point 4 Hennequin Telefon Rocks

Bay Drake 6 Admiralty ran ran Flagstaff Mountain B at Potter at Potter 7 Telefon Cove Dallman Laboratory 8 Potter O C E A N 59º00'W S O U T H E R N S O U T H E R 1 Bay 2 Collins Jubany station Harbor Maxwell 9 3 SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS •• King George Island 5 Fildes Peninsula AC Island Nelson 59º00'W Strait Fildes Before boom the island’s station-building Argentina built Argentina The British were first to build a base first on The British were KING GEORGE ISLAND & NELSON ISLAND & NELSON ISLAND GEORGE KING 62º00'S 2 3 1 here was opened in 1994 by Argentina, the was opened in 1994 by Argentina, here above the station is Three Brothers Hill Hill Brothers the station is Three above (210m). The summer-only ity since 1984. It accommodates 80 people; ity since 1984. It accommodates Prominent here. 20 people normally winter Cove in 1953. It has been a year-round facil- has been in 1953. It a year-round Cove was known, was removed by members of of by members was known, was removed station Ferraz Brazil’s nearby Commandante 1995–96. in King George Island, in 1946–47, on Admiralty King George Bay, but it was closed in 1961. Base G, as it Island, where it was repaired. it Island, where the bay and was abandoned. In 1909 it was sal- Bay at Deception and towed to Telefon vaged later the supply vessel the whaling supply vessel later to Rocks at the entrance aground on Telefon began, whalers setbegan, whalers up operations at Admiralty Bay on the southern coast in 1906. Two years it an easy place for a country to build a station thus earn- and perform scientific research, party, or full a consultative ing the status of Antarctic Treaty. the member, of is so accessible to South America. This makes This makes is so accessible to South America. lonelyplanet.com

Top View