Traversay Islands
 The Traversay Islands within the South Sandwich Islands | |
 Location of the South Sandwich Islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 56°36′S 027°43′W / 56.600°S 27.717°W |
| Archipelago | South Sandwich Islands |
| Administration | |
United Kingdom | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
The Traversay Islands (Spanish: Archipiélago Marqués de Traverse) are a group of three islands—Zavodovski, Leskov and Visokoi—at the northern end of the South Sandwich Islands.[1][2]
History
The group was discovered in November 1819 by a Russian expedition under
Nassau-Siegen.[4] He was Minister of Naval Affairs at Saint Petersburg
, 1809–28, and chief promoter of Bellingshausen's Antarctic voyage. The name was previously transliterated as Traverse because it was incorrectly thought that the man commemorated was a Russian.
Geography
South Georgia Island. It is the northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands and the nearest to South Georgia. The island is approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) across with a peak elevation of 551 metres (1,808 feet) above sea level.[4] The stratovolcano Mount Asphyxia
dominates the western side of the island while the eastern half is a low-lying lava plain.
Mount Asphyxia is believed to be active with fresh
chinstrap penguins,[6] making it one of the world's largest penguin colonies.[7] Zavodovski Island featured in the initial part of BBC’s Planet Earth II natural history television series, narrated by David Attenborough and first shown in the UK on 6 November 2016. The programme described in film life in the harsh environment for the 1.5 million Chinstrap penguins
– the largest penguin colony in the world.
Arnold Weinholt Hodson, a governor of the Falkland Islands. Visokoi means "high".[8] The island's eastern tip, Point Irving, is named for the leader of a British exploratory and mapping expedition, Commander John J. Irving; the father of British writer and Holocaust denier, David Irving
.
subduction zone forming the South Sandwich Trench
lies to the east of the island arc.
See also
- List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
- List of Antarctic islands north of 60° S
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-471-98665-2. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ Scientific reports. British Antarctic Survey. 1962. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-395-98415-4. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ ISBN 0-87590-172-7.
- ^ G. A. French (1974). The Antarctic pilot: comprising the coasts of Antarctica and all islands southward of the usual route of vessels. Hydrographer of the Navy. p. 146. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-7614-7418-0. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ Laboratoire de cryptogamie (Muséum national d'histoire naturelle) (2004). Cryptogamie: Algologie. Laboratoire de cryptogamie, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. p. 262. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-57607-422-0. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ Transactions of the Caribbean Geological Conference. Queens College Press. 1968. p. 165. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
External links
- Photograph of Zavodovski Island
- Aerial photograph of Zavodovski Island This image belongs to John Smellie, Leicester University
- Photograph of Visokoi Island
56°36′S 27°43′W / 56.600°S 27.717°W
Capital: King Edward Point | |||||||
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| South Georgia islands |
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| South Sandwich Islands |
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| Seamounts | |||||||
| Landmarks |
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