Petermann Island

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For Petermann Ice Island, see Petermann Glacier § Ice loss.
Petermann Island
Petermann Island from a distance
Petermann Island is located in Antarctica
Petermann Island
Petermann Island
Location of Petermann Island
Petermann Island is located in Antarctic Peninsula
Petermann Island
Petermann Island
Petermann Island (Antarctic Peninsula)
Geography
LocationAntarctica
Coordinates65°10′S 64°10′W / 65.167°S 64.167°W / -65.167; -64.167
Length2 km (1.2 mi)
Administration
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System
Demographics
Population0

Petermann Island is a small, low and rounded island, lying off the northwest coast of Kyiv Peninsula in Graham Land, Antarctica, a short distance south of Booth Island and the Lemaire Channel. It is a popular tourist destination.

Description

The island is 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long and 1.2 km (0.75 mi) across. It rises steeply to elevations of up to 250 m (820 ft) from a rocky coastline with raised pebble beaches. It 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] The bedrock of the island is granodiorite,[2]

History

The island was discovered by a

Feast of the Circumcision
.

Huts built by the expedition are gone, although a

Faraday Station
.

Geography

Adélie penguin rookery on Petermann Island; their droppings make the grey rock pinkish

A large number of locations on the island have been individually charted and named. Unless otherwise specified, the following features were first charted by the French Antarctic Expedition during their winter on the island, and named by Captain Jean-Baptiste Charcot.

Rouch Point forms the northwest end of Petermann Island. It was named for Jules Rouch, the expedition's oceanographer.[3] Godfroy Point marks the northern extremity of the island. It was named by Captain Charcot for Rene Godfroy, sub-lieutenant on the Pourquoi-Pas.[4] Liouville Point marks the northeast end of the island. It was named for J. Liouville, the expedition's zoologist.[5]

Depeaux Point forms the south end of the island.

Roman Catholic calendar, this date is the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, for which Captain Charcot named the cove. The cove served as a base for the Pourquoi-Pas during the 1909 winter season.[7]

Also on the south end of the island is Megalestris Hill, a rocky hill approximately 35 m (115 ft) high. It was named Megalestris after an obsolete generic name for the

Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, but the cairn, with a replica plaque, has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 27), following a proposal by Argentina, France and the United Kingdom to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.[9]

Important Bird Area

Penguin colonies, cruise ship and tourists

The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) 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]

Groussac Refuge

Groussac Refuge
Refuge
Naval refuge Groussac in 2013
Naval refuge Groussac in 2013
Country Argentina
Location in Antarctic PeninsulaPetermann Island
Graham Land
Antarctica
Administered byArgentine Navy
Established1955 (1955)
Named forPaul Groussac
TypeSeasonal
StatusOperational

Groussac Refuge (65°10′33″S 64°08′10″W / 65.175727°S 64.136247°W / -65.175727; -64.136247) is an Argentine naval refuge (originally called

Port Circumcision, on Petermann Island, next to the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The refuge was inaugurated on February 6, 1955 and is operated by the Argentine Navy and was occupied periodically by personnel of the British Antarctic Survey of the former Faraday Station
. The refuge is in the middle of a colony of
Malvinas Islands and biographies of Argentine national heroes.[citation needed
]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Petermann Island". BirdLife data zone: Important Bird Areas. BirdLife International. 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  2. ISBN 978-3-642-23462-0
    .
  3. ^ "Rouch Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  4. ^ "Godfroy Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  5. ^ "Liouville Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  6. ^ "Depeaux Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  7. ^ "Port Circumcision". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  8. ^ "Megalestris Hill". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  9. ^ "List of Historic Sites and Monuments approved by the ATCM (2012)" (PDF). Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. 2012. Retrieved 2013-10-28.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Petermann Island.
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