24-458: King Haakon Bay , or King Haakon Sound , is an inlet on the southern coast of the island of South Georgia . The inlet is approximately 13 km (8 miles) long and 4 km (2.5 miles) wide. The inlet was named for King Haakon VII of Norway by Carl Anton Larsen , founder of Grytviken . Queen Maud Bay , named for his queen, is nearby. Shackleton Gap , a mountain pass, connects King Haakon Bay to Possession Bay . Cave Cove, which forms part of
48-699: A British Antarctic Survey research station, with a population of about 20 people. The island of South Georgia was probably discovered in 1675 by Anthony de la Roché , a London merchant, and was named Roche Island on a number of early maps. It was sighted by a commercial Spanish ship named León operating out of Saint-Malo on 28 or 29 June 1756. According to Argentine historians, it was explored on 29 June 1756, St Peter's Day , hence its Spanish name Isla San Pedro , literally "St Peter's Island". The mariner Captain James Cook in HMS ; Resolution made
72-566: A beached boat. While they were waiting in this location, Henry McNish took screws from the boat and put them in the crew's shoes in order that they could walk across ice more easily. During the South Georgia Survey , 1955–56, King Haakon Bay was surveyed and the approximate position of the camp deduced. The name Peggotty Bluff was given to the feature now described, which is close to the ITAE campsite. This South Georgia and
96-477: A pest, damaging the island's flora and wider ecosystem. Karl Erik Kilander, the project manager, said the culled reindeer were frozen and taken to the Falkland Islands where they were sold to local residents and cruise ship operators. In 2018, after a multiyear extermination effort, the island was declared free of invasive rodents and the number of South Georgia pipits had clearly increased. In
120-428: A stepped sequence of flat surfaces interpreted as wave-cut platforms formed when sea level was higher relative to the island. At sea level strandflats have been described. In 2013, teams of Norwegian government shooters and Sámi reindeer herders culled all 3,500 reindeer on the island. The animals had been introduced by Norwegian whalers in the early 20th century for food and sport hunting, but were later seen as
144-468: Is around 170 kilometres (106 mi) long and has a maximum width of 35 kilometres (22 mi). The terrain is mountainous, with the central ridge rising to 2,935 metres (9,629 ft) at Mount Paget . The northern coast is indented with numerous bays and fjords, serving as good harbours . Discovered by Europeans in 1675, South Georgia had no indigenous population due to its harsh climate and remoteness. Captain James Cook in HMS Resolution made
168-424: Is buried in the cemetery at Grytviken alongside Frank Wild . Commercial sealing was conducted on the island between 1786 and 1913. During that period 131 sealing visits are recorded, eight of which ended when the vessel was wrecked. Modern industrial sealing associated with whaling stations was carried out between 1909 and 1964. Sealing era relics include iron try pots , hut ruins, graves and inscriptions, and
192-583: The Argentine flag on the island. On 3 April, the second day of the Falklands War , Argentine naval forces occupied the island. South Georgia was retaken by British forces on 25 April during Operation Paraquet . The island's climate is classified as an ET or polar tundra climate on the Köppen-Geiger classification system . It has no tree cover, and there is generally snow on the island during
216-780: The British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands . It is situated in Cumberland East Bay on the northeastern coast of the island. The settlement is the second smallest capital in the world by population , after Ngerulmud in Palau . The area was explored by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–04 under Otto Nordenskiöld . It was named around 1906 after King Edward VII of
240-480: The South Georgia Museum was established on the island in 1992. The island was surveyed by explorer Duncan Carse . He organised and led the South Georgia Survey of 1951–1957, surveying much of the interior of the island. Mount Carse and Carse Point are named after him. In 1961 he lived as a hermit in a remote part of South Georgia. Carse built a house at Ducloz Head on the southern coast of
264-582: The British presence at the station until 1982. At the beginning of the Falklands War on 3 April 1982, Argentine forces occupied South Georgia and closed the station. They were soon expelled during Operation Paraquet later the same month and British military forces retook the point. A series of civilian Marine Officers was appointed to carry out customs and fisheries duties for the South Georgia Government from 1991, and were billeted with
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#1732787297224288-558: The South Sandwich Islands location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . South Georgia Island South Georgia is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands . It lies around 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) east of the Falkland Islands . Stretching in the east–west direction, South Georgia
312-676: The United Kingdom . Since 1909, King Edward Point has been the residence of a British Magistrate administering the island. In 1925, the government of the United Kingdom established Discovery House, a marine laboratory for Discovery Investigations . On 1 January 1950, the station ownership was assumed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. The station was manned from 1 January 1952 to 13 November 1969. The British Antarctic Survey provided
336-549: The bay, is best known as the landing place of Ernest Shackleton in May 1916 as he sought help for his shipwrecked crew marooned on Elephant Island with the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition . James Caird landed in the cove on 10 May 1916, after its tumultuous voyage from Elephant Island . While at Cave Cove, the men fed on albatross . Henry McNish wrote: "We have not been as comfortable for
360-523: The boat. From here, they moved to Peggotty Bluff. The voyage is commemorated by a small plaque in the rock at the cove. Peggotty Bluff or Peggotty Camp is a bluff near the head of King Haakon Bay on the north side. The party camped at the bluff using the upturned James Caird , They named the camp for the Peggotty family in Charles Dickens ' David Copperfield , who lived in a home made from
384-593: The busy winter fishing season. Summer staff from the Museum at Grytviken are also accommodated at KEP. The continued occupation of the station serves a political purpose as well: it helps to maintain British sovereignty against Argentina 's claim for ownership of the territory. The chief activities of the station are applied fisheries research on behalf of the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands , to assist its policies for sustainable management of
408-455: The central north coast, five years after poisoning the rats, the populations of snowy sheathbills , South Georgia pintails and Wilson's storm petrels had grown. The island lies in the path of large icebergs drifting northward from Antarctica. Iceberg A-38 grounded off the island in 2004, resulting in indirect but severe effects on local wildlife by disturbing life on the seafloor and blocking foraging routes of seals and penguins. In 2020,
432-405: The colossal 4,200-square-kilometre (1,600 sq mi) Iceberg A-68 , similar in size to the island itself, was initially believed to be on a similar collision course but broke apart before collision with the island. King Edward Point King Edward Point (also known as KEP ) is a permanent British Antarctic Survey research station on South Georgia island and is the capital of
456-520: The first landing, survey and mapping of South Georgia. As mandated by the Admiralty , on 17 January 1775 he took possession for Britain and renamed the island 'Isle of Georgia' for King George III . After making a foot crossing of the island with Tom Crean and Frank Worsley , Ernest Shackleton organised the rescue of his party from Elephant Island following the disaster that befell the 1916 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition , which he led. He
480-434: The first landing, survey and mapping of the island, and on 17 January 1775 he claimed it a British possession, naming it "Isle of Georgia" after King George III . Through its history , it served as a whaling and seal hunting base, with intermittent population scattered in several whaling bases, the most important historically being Grytviken . The main settlement and the capital today is King Edward Point near Grytviken,
504-473: The island, intending to live there through the winter. However, in May, three months into the experiment, surge waves destroyed his camp. He managed to salvage enough gear to survive the winter until making contact with a ship 116 days later. His knowledge and mapping proved helpful to the British during the Falklands conflicts. On 19 March 1982, a group of Argentinians arrived at Leith Harbour and raised
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#1732787297224528-429: The last five weeks, We had 3 young & 1 old albatross for lunch with 1 pint of gravy which beets [sic] all the chicken soup I ever tasted." Since they had run out of drinking water arriving at Cave Cove, the men immediately went to the small stream there. They had to leave their boat offshore, and the elements tore the rudder off James Caird . The rudder floated back into the cove later, and thus they were able to repair
552-666: The small garrison. On 22 March 2001, the British Antarctic Survey reopened the station on behalf of the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI). Most of the old, dilapidated (and arguably historic) buildings were destroyed to make way for new ones, with the exception of Discovery House (1925) and the Gaol (1912). Currently twelve BAS personnel overwinter at the station, rising to around 22 in summer. Two Government Officers plus partners are stationed on KEP, overlapping by about three months during
576-538: The winter months (April–November). The terrain is mountainous, with a central ridge and many fjords and bays along the coast. South Georgia is a breeding ground for elephant seals , fur seals , and king penguins . The island is home to the South Georgia pintail and the South Georgia pipit , which are endemic to the island. There are 25 native vascular plants on South Georgia , and 76 non-native species have been recorded. The island's topography includes
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