South Shetland Islands, Drake Passage, South Pole
The South Shetland Islands are a group of
Antarctic islands, lying about
120 kilometres (75 mi) north of the
Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of 3,687 square kilometres (1,424 sq mi). By the
Antarctic Treaty of
1959, the islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for non-military purposes. The islands have been claimed by the
United Kingdom since
1908 and to be part of the
British Antarctic Territory since 1962. They are also claimed by the governments of
Chile (since
1940, as part of the
Antártica Chilena Province) and by
Argentina (since 1943, as part of
Argentine Antarctica,
Tierra del Fuego Province). Several countries maintain research stations on the islands. Most of them are situated on
King George Island, benefitting from the airfield of the
Chilean base
Eduardo Frei. There are sixteen research stations to date in different parts of the islands, with Chilean stations being the greatest in number.
Research is often a shared duty of nations, with the Chilean-United
States Shirreff Base being one example. As a group of islands, the
South Shetland Islands are located at 62°0′
S 58°0′WCoordinates: 62°0′S 58°0′W. They are within the region 61° 00'–63° 37'
South, 53° 83'–62° 83'
West. The islands lie 940 km (580 mi) south of the
Falkland Islands, and between 93 km (58 mi) (
Deception Island) and 269 km (167 mi) (
Clarence Island) northwest and north from the nearest
point of the
Antarctic continent,
Graham Land. The South Shetlands consist of 11 major islands and several minor ones, totalling 3,687 square kilometres (1,424 sq mi) of land area. Between 80 and 90 percent of the land area is permanently glaciated. The highest point on the island chain is
Mount Irving on Clarence Island at 2,
300 metres (7,546 ft) above sea level. The South Shetland Islands extend about 450 km (280 mi) from
Smith Island and
Snow Island in the west-southwest to
Elephant Island and Clarence Island in the east-northeast. The islands are the same distance from the equator as the
Faroe islands in the north
Atlantic but their proximity to
Antarctica means that they have a much colder climate. The sea around the islands is closed by ice from early April to early December and the monthly average temperature is below 0 °
C (32 °F) for eight months of the year (April to November). The islands have experienced measurable glacier retreat during recent years but despite this they remain more than 80% snow and ice covered throughout
the summer. The climate is cloudy and humid all year round and very strong westerly winds blow at all seasons. Some of the sunniest weather is associated with outbreaks of very cold weather from the south in late winter and spring.
Mean summer temperatures are only about 1.5 °
C (34.7 °F) and those in winter are about −5 °
C (23 °F). The effect of the ocean tends to keep summer temperatures low and winter temperatures from decreasing as low as they do inland to the south.
Despite the harsh conditions the islands do support vegetation and are part of the
Scotia Sea Islands tundra ecoregion, along with
South Georgia and the
South Sandwich Islands, the
South Orkney Islands and
Bouvet Island. All these islands lie in the cold seas below the
Antarctic convergence. These areas support tundra vegetation consisting of mosses, lichens and algae, while seabirds, penguins and seals feed in the surrounding waters. Chilean scientists have claimed that
Amerind visited the islands, due to stone artifacts recovered from bottom-sampling operations in
Admiralty Bay, King George Island and
Discovery Bay,
Greenwich Island; however, the artifacts two arrowheads were later found to have been planted.
The Dutchman Dirck Gerritsz in 1599, or the
Spaniard Gabriel de Castilla in 1603, supposedly sailed south of the
Drake Passage in the South Shetland Islands area. In 1818
Juan Pedro de Aguirre obtained permission from the
Buenos Aires authorities to establish a base for sealing on "some of the uninhabited islands near the
South Pole".
Captain William Smith in the
British merchant brig
Williams, while sailing to
Valparaiso, Chile in 1819 deviated from his route south of
Cape Horn, and on
19 February sighted
Williams Point, the northeast extremity of
Livingston Island. Thus Livingston Island became the first land ever discovered south of the 60th southern latitude.
Smith revisited the
South Shetlands, landed on King George Island on
16 October 1819, and claimed possession for
Britain.
Meanwhile, the
Spanish Navy ship
San Telmo sank in September 1819 whilst trying to go through the Drake Passage. Parts of her presumed wreckage were found months later by sealers on the north coast of Livingston Island.