King George Island (South Shetland Islands)

King George island has three major bays, Maxwell Bay, Admiralty Bay, and King George Bay. Admiralty Bay contains three fjords, and is protected as an Antarctic Specially Managed Area under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.{{cite web |url=http://www.admiraltybayasma.aq/index_eng.html |title=Review of Admiralty Bay Antarctic Specially Managed |website=www.admiraltybayasma.aq |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109010209/http://www.admiraltybayasma.aq/index_eng.html |archive-date=9 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}

File:20160213 152601 Antarktis 4.jpg

The Fildes Peninsula, {{convert|7|km|mi}} long, forms the SW extremity of the island. It was named from association with nearby Fildes Strait by the UK-APC in 1960.

Chilean scientists have claimed that Amerinds visited the area, citing stone artifacts recovered from bottom-sampling operations in Admiralty Bay;{{cite journal |author=G. Hattersley-Smith |date=June 1983 |title=Fuegian Indians in the Falkland Islands |journal=Polar Record |volume=21 |issue=135 |pages=605–606 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/S003224740002204X |s2cid=129083566}} however, the artifacts—two arrowheads—were later found to have been planted.{{cite web |url=http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/KeywordSearch/Metadata.do?Portal=GCMD&KeywordPath=%5BFreetext%3D%27026-82_01%27%5D&OrigMetadataNode=GCMD&EntryId=026-82_01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193833/http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/KeywordSearch/Metadata.do?Portal=GCMD&KeywordPath=%5BFreetext%3D%27026-82_01%27%5D&OrigMetadataNode=GCMD&EntryId=026-82_01 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 January 2014 |title=Authentication of aboriginal remains in the South Shetland Islands |date=15 October 2012 |publisher=NASA |access-date=2 January 2014}} {{PD-notice}}{{cite book |last=Griffiths |first=Tom |date=2007 |title=Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica |pages=[https://archive.org/details/slicingsilencevo00tomg/page/344 344–345] |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0674026339 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/slicingsilencevo00tomg/page/344}}

The island was first claimed for Britain on 16 October 1819, formally annexedOdd Gunnar Skagestad. Norsk Polar Politikk: Hovedtrekk og Utvikslingslinier, 1905–1974. Oslo: Dreyers Forlag, 1975Thorleif Tobias Thorleifsson. [http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/retrieve/3720/etd2367.pdf Bi-polar international diplomacy: The Sverdrup Islands question, 1902–1930.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304084903/http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/retrieve/3720/etd2367.pdf |date=4 March 2009 }} Master of Arts Thesis, Simon Fraser University, 2004.Robert K. Headland, The Island of South Georgia, Cambridge University Press, 1984. by Britain as part of the Falkland Islands Dependencies in 1908, and now as part of the separate British Antarctic Territory. The Island was claimed by Chile in 1940, as part of the Chilean Antarctic Territory. It was also claimed by Argentina in 1943, now as part of Argentine Antarctica, called by the Argentines Isla Veinticinco de Mayo (25 May) in honour of their National Day. The US and Russia do not recognize any Antarctic claim, and have formally reserved their right to claim Antarctic territories.

The island was discovered and named by the British explorer William Smith in 1819, who named it after the then King, George III.Campbell, David G. (2002). The Crystal Desert: Summers in Antarctica, p. 4. Houghton-Mifflin Books. {{ISBN|0-618-21921-8}}. It is approximately {{convert|95|km|mi|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide with a land area of {{convert|1150|km2|sqmi|0}}. Over 90% of the island's surface is permanently glaciated. In 1821, 11 men of the sealing vessel Lord Melville survived the winter on the island, the first men to do so in Antarctica.Mills, William James (2003). Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia, p. 353. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc. {{ISBN|1-57607-422-6}}.

Chile (like Argentina and Great Britain) regards all of the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands as part of that country's territory; however, the terms of the Antarctic Treaty allow Chile to colonize the Fildes Peninsula without overtly pursuing its territorial claims.National Geographic, December 2001

File:Collins Glacier, King George Island, Antarctica (27 December 2018).jpg

The coastal areas of the island are home to a comparatively diverse selection of animal life, including elephant, Weddell, and leopard seals, and Adelie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins. Several other seabirds, including skuas and southern giant petrel, nest on this island during the summer months.

In 1971, Denis C. Lindsay published Vegetation of the South Shetland Islands, and in doing so was the first professional botanist to outline the flora of King George Island. Only two vascular plants are known to grow on the island - Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort. The flora is otherwise dominated by lichens and mosses. Ryszard Ochyra reports in his 1998 publication that there are 61 distinct species of moss found on the island, which is considered rich for the latitude. This makes King George Island "one of the most muscologically diverse areas in the Antarctic".{{cite book |last1=Ochyra |first1=Ryszard |title=The Moss Flora of King George Island, Antarctica |date=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNgUAQAAIAAJ |access-date=23 August 2024 |publisher=Polish Academy of Sciences, W. Szafer Institute of Botany |isbn=978-83-85444-60-2 |language=en}}

File:Antarctica, pollution, environment, Russia, Bellingshausen 1.JPG]]

File:Antarctic China2.jpg

Human habitation of King George Island is limited to research stations belonging to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, South Korea, Peru, Poland, Russia, Uruguay, and the United States.{{Cite news |last=Celestial |first=Julie |date=November 20, 2020 |title=Earthquake swarm with magnitudes up to 6.0 near King George Island, Antarctica |url=https://watchers.news/2020/11/20/earthquake-swarm-south-shetland-islands-antarctica/ |access-date=April 17, 2024 |work=The Watchers}} Most of these stations are permanently staffed, carrying out research in areas as diverse as biology, ecology, geology, and palaeontology.

File:Villa Las Estrellas.jpg and Russian Bellingshausen (on the right)]]

Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, the Chilean Station on the Fildes Peninsula, is operated as a permanent village with an airstrip (with large hangar and control tower along with other buildings), cafeterias for personnel of its several agencies there, a bank, a post office and comfortable ranch-style family homes with children. The Chinese Great Wall base features an indoor multipurpose room which serves as a full-size basketball court.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

In 2004, a Russian Orthodox church, Trinity Church, was opened on the island near Russia's Bellingshausen Station. The church, one of the southernmost in the world and one of the few permanent structures in Antarctica, is permanently staffed by a priest.{{cn|date=August 2024}} The first attempted murder in Antarctica occurred on the island in 2018 at Bellingshausen Station.{{cite web |url=https://nypost.com/2018/10/30/antarctica-scientist-stabbed-colleague-for-spoiling-book-endings-report/amp/ |title=Antarctica scientist stabbed colleague for spoiling book endings |date=30 October 2018 |access-date=10 December 2019}}

Point Thomas lighthouse at Arctowski Station is the most southerly lighthouse of the world.[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027115012/http://www.geocities.com/antarcticaaz/ ANTARCTICA FROM A-Z] geocities.com/antarcticaaz

NOAA runs Lenie Base, a seasonal research station for penguin studies on Admiralty Bay. This small station, dubbed Copacabana, operates in the Antarctic summer only, but is used as a survival hut in the winter.{{cite web |url=http://swfsc.noaa.gov/gs/default.aspx?aid=411 |title=Image Gallery |access-date=8 November 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023110541/http://swfsc.noaa.gov/gs/Default.aspx?aid=411 |archive-date=23 October 2011}}

In October 2013, American heavy metal band Metallica announced that it would perform a concert sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company at Carlini Station heliport.{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2013/10/25/news/companies/metallica-coca-cola-antarctica/index.html |title=Metallica to rock Antarctica in Coke show |first=Aaron |last=Smith |website=cnn.com |date=25 October 2013 |access-date=7 May 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405024855/http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/25/news/companies/metallica-coca-cola-antarctica/index.html |archive-date=5 April 2018}} The concert took place on 8 December 2013.{{cite web |url=https://www.spin.com/2013/12/metallica-concert-antarctica-video-freeze-em-all/ |title=Enter Snowman: Watch Metallica's Historic Antarctica Concert |date=23 December 2013 |website=spin.com |access-date=7 May 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405025047/https://www.spin.com/2013/12/metallica-concert-antarctica-video-freeze-em-all/ |archive-date=5 April 2018}}

A small amount of specialised tourist activity also takes place during summer, including an annual marathon, known as the Antarctic marathon.

The Antarctic Peninsula and its nearby islands are considered to have the mildest living conditions in Antarctica. The island's climate is strongly influenced by the surrounding ocean.{{cite web |title=Station Bellingshausen |url=http://www.aari.nw.ru/projects/Antarctic/stations/bell/bell_en.html |publisher=Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040416190127/http://www.aari.nw.ru/projects/Antarctic/stations/bell/bell_en.html |archive-date=16 April 2004 |url-status=dead}} Under the Köppen system, it is one of the few locations in Antarctica classified as a tundra climate rather than an ice cap climate.{{cite journal |author=Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification |journal=Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P |url=https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf |issn=1027-5606 |doi-access=free}} Variation in temperatures are small, with the coldest month, July, averaging {{convert|-6.5|°C|1}} and {{convert|1.5|°C|1}} in the warmest month.{{cite web |title=Bellingshausen Station (89050) |url=http://www.aari.nw.ru/projects/Antarctic/data/data.asp?lang=0&station=0 |publisher=Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040515000837/http://www.aari.nw.ru/projects/Antarctic/data/data.asp?lang=0&station=0 |archive-date=15 May 2004 |date=4 May 2004 |url-status=dead}} With only 591.3 hours of sunshine per year, the weather is often unsettled and cloudy throughout the year, with precipitation in the form of snow, rain, and drizzle occurring often. On average, 729 mm of precipitation falls per year.

{{Weather box

|location = Bellingshausen Station (Collins Harbour,King George Island) (1968–2014)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan high C = 3.3

|Feb high C = 3.3

|Mar high C = 2.1

|Apr high C = 0.2

|May high C = -1.5

|Jun high C = -3.1

|Jul high C = -3.8

|Aug high C = -3.6

|Sep high C = -2.0

|Oct high C = -0.9

|Nov high C = 0.4

|Dec high C = 2.0

|year high C = -0.3

|Jan mean C = 1.5

|Feb mean C = 1.5

|Mar mean C = 0.4

|Apr mean C = -1.7

|May mean C = -3.6

|Jun mean C = -5.6

|Jul mean C = -6.5

|Aug mean C = -6.2

|Sep mean C = -4.4

|Oct mean C = -2.6

|Nov mean C = -1.1

|Dec mean C = 0.4

|year mean C = -2.3

|Jan low C = 0.1

|Feb low C = 0.1

|Mar low C = -1.3

|Apr low C = -3.8

|May low C = -6.0

|Jun low C = -8.3

|Jul low C = −9.7

|Aug low C = -9.3

|Sep low C = -7.1

|Oct low C = -4.7

|Nov low C = -2.7

|Dec low C = -1.0

|year low C = -4.5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 54.4

|Feb precipitation mm = 66.4

|Mar precipitation mm = 72.1

|Apr precipitation mm = 65.6

|May precipitation mm = 60.6

|Jun precipitation mm = 53.4

|Jul precipitation mm = 60.5

|Aug precipitation mm = 62.1

|Sep precipitation mm = 59.8

|Oct precipitation mm = 54.6

|Nov precipitation mm = 46.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 46.0

|year precipitation mm = 702.2

|Jan humidity = 87.8

|Feb humidity = 88.8

|Mar humidity = 88.3

|Apr humidity = 88.0

|May humidity = 88.2

|Jun humidity = 87.6

|Jul humidity = 88.5

|Aug humidity = 88.6

|Sep humidity = 89.6

|Oct humidity = 88.8

|Nov humidity = 88.4

|Dec humidity = 88.3

|year humidity = 88.4

|Jan sun = 89.3

|Feb sun = 66.2

|Mar sun = 54.4

|Apr sun = 28.4

|May sun = 13.9

|Jun sun = 3.8

|Jul sun = 9.0

|Aug sun = 28.5

|Sep sun = 48.1

|Oct sun = 70.9

|Nov sun = 83.2

|Dec sun = 95.5

|year sun = 591.2

|source 1 = Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

}}

{{Weather box

|location = Base Frei (Fildes Bay, King George Island)

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|open = yes

|Jan record high C = 13.0

|Feb record high C = 9.2

|Mar record high C = 8.3

|Apr record high C = 5.9

|May record high C = 4.6

|Jun record high C = 4.2

|Jul record high C = 5.0

|Aug record high C = 3.8

|Sep record high C = 4.4

|Oct record high C = 4.4

|Nov record high C = 6.0

|Dec record high C = 8.2

|year record high C = 13.0

|Jan high C = 2.7

|Feb high C = 2.9

|Mar high C = 2.2

|Apr high C = 0.6

|May high C = -0.8

|Jun high C = -1.5

|Jul high C = -0.9

|Aug high C = -2.2

|Sep high C = -1.3

|Oct high C = -0.8

|Nov high C = 0.0

|Dec high C = 2.1

|year high C = 0.3

|Jan mean C = 1.5

|Feb mean C = 1.6

|Mar mean C = 0.4

|Apr mean C = -1.7

|May mean C = -3.8

|Jun mean C = -5.5

|Jul mean C = -6.5

|Aug mean C = -6.5

|Sep mean C = -4.5

|Oct mean C = -2.6

|Nov mean C = -1.0

|Dec mean C = 0.6

|year mean C = -2.3

|Jan low C = 0.3

|Feb low C = 0.6

|Mar low C = -1.2

|Apr low C = -4.8

|May low C = -8.2

|Jun low C = -9.4

|Jul low C = -13.2

|Aug low C = -11.3

|Sep low C = -8.0

|Oct low C = -5.6

|Nov low C = -2.8

|Dec low C = -0.3

|year low C = -5.3

|Jan record low C = -5.1

|Feb record low C = -5.8

|Mar record low C = -9.9

|Apr record low C = -16.8

|May record low C = -23.6

|Jun record low C = -24.2

|Jul record low C = -28.5

|Aug record low C = -28.7

|Sep record low C = -23.0

|Oct record low C = -17.0

|Nov record low C = -10.7

|Dec record low C = -6.8

|year record low C = -28.7

|Jan precipitation mm = 53.8

|Feb precipitation mm = 52.3

|Mar precipitation mm = 52.5

|Apr precipitation mm = 46.6

|May precipitation mm = 31.0

|Jun precipitation mm = 29.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 32.2

|Aug precipitation mm = 34.5

|Sep precipitation mm = 42.0

|Oct precipitation mm = 47.7

|Nov precipitation mm = 41.0

|Dec precipitation mm = 30.1

|year precipitation mm = 492.9

|Jan humidity = 91

|Feb humidity = 89

|Mar humidity = 89

|Apr humidity = 89

|May humidity = 88

|Jun humidity = 90

|Jul humidity = 89

|Aug humidity = 88

|Sep humidity = 89

|Oct humidity = 90

|Nov humidity = 89

|Dec humidity = 81

|year humidity = 89

|Jan sun = 83.8

|Feb sun = 71.2

|Mar sun = 57.3

|Apr sun = 23.6

|May sun = 8.3

|Jun sun = 1.2

|Jul sun = 3.9

|Aug sun = 15.8

|Sep sun = 44.2

|Oct sun = 93.2

|Nov sun = 104.5

|Dec sun = 98.1

|year sun = 605.1

|source 1 = Dirección Meteorológica de Chile (temperature data: 1970–2004, all other 1990–2000){{cite web |last1=Cerda |first1=Jorge |last2=Zamora |first2=Monica |url=http://164.77.222.61/climatologia/publicaciones/Climatologia_Frei.pdf |title=CLIMATOLOGÍA DE LA PENINSULA ANTARTICA Y DE LA BASE PRESIDENTE EDUARDO FREI MONTALVA |publisher=Dirección Meteorológica de Chile |work=Climatologica Antartica |language=es |date=2007 |access-date=10 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417150031/http://164.77.222.61/climatologia/publicaciones/Climatologia_Frei.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}

|date=October 2012

}}

{{Cmn|

• Artigas Base
• Bolinder Bluff
• Cockscomb Hill
• Comandante Ferraz Brazilian Antarctic Base
• Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
• Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station
• Islands of Chile
• List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
• Mersey Spit
• Plaza Point
• SCAR
• Sherratt Bay
• South Shetland Islands
• Stwosz Icefall
• Subantarctic
• Territorial claims in Antarctica
• Warszawa Dome
• Wawel Hill (Antarctica)
• Wesele Cove

}}

{{Reflist}}

• A.G.E. Jones, "Captain William Smith and the Discovery of New South Shetland", Geographical Journal, Vol. 141, No. 3 (November 1975), pp. 445–461
• Alan Gurney, Below the Convergence: Voyages Toward Antarctica, 1699–1839, Penguin Books, New York, 1998
• Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 62 (1): pp. 35–43 Spanish
• E. Serrano. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Enrique-Serrano-3/publication/28081106_Espacios_protegidos_y_politica_territorial_en_las_islas_Shetland_del_Sur_Antartida/links/0a85e53567a0690b3b000000/Espacios-protegidos-y-politica-territorial-en-las-islas-Shetland-del-Sur-Antartida.pdf?_sg%5B0%5D=HcRu7znipJQCxJXUlE7EkXGvbRT1ahW9fK0U-NXNzvRz4vjG45flhgO8bsyR-D-_dPwHNBJWN5Pd30G-1y0HEA.lqYT9a4b_cbhCDGooa8yuPO5WWsxUzujpfgwAMDACJDfFUFViwXGZkaSx9krLr7ksA8EqmJ33fijsZ-MhJOpcg&_sg%5B1%5D=irAYtvCu4ftOlsy4pLqUiES46nn9-kgZFCs0vX2heymaWU5EWEDZxZuTzvay8nsqPy1skg_Xsxt9cGkuvx2TbbQzvCrlQbpcGwkCawLIz2P3.lqYT9a4b_cbhCDGooa8yuPO5WWsxUzujpfgwAMDACJDfFUFViwXGZkaSx9krLr7ksA8EqmJ33fijsZ-MhJOpcg&_iepl= Espacios protegidos y política territorial en las islas Shetland del Sur (Antártida).] Boletín de la A.G.E. N.º 31 – 2001, págs. 5–21

{{Commons category|King George Island}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061112171657/http://www.kgis.scar.org/ The SCAR King George Island GIS Project] provides an interactive map of the island.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060208123258/http://www.planetavivo.org/english/ResearchPrograms/Antarctica/SlideShows/ArdleyIsland/ArdleyIsland1.html Biodiversity at Ardley Island] Small place near King George Island, special protected area.
• [http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/antarcticland.html Report From Antarctica: Countries Maneuver for Potential Future Land Grab]

{{Coord|62|02|S|58|21|W|display=title}}

{{South Shetlands}}

{{West Antarctica}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Portal bar|Islands|Geography}}

Category:Islands of the South Shetland Islands

Category:Seal hunting