Seal Islands (South Shetland Islands)

Seal Islands
Geography
Location of Seal Islands
Location	Antarctica
Coordinates	60°58′S 55°24′W / 60.967°S 55.400°W / -60.967; -55.400
Archipelago	South Shetland Islands
Country
Antarctica
Demographics
Population	0
Additional information
CEMP Site No.1. Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System

The Seal Islands (also known as Îles des Phoques, Islas Foca, Islotes Foca and Seal Rocks) are a group of small islands and rocky islets lying about 7 km north and north-west of Elephant Island, in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. They extend east – west for about 5 km,^[1] and are separated from Elephant Island by Sealers Passage. The group takes its name from the largest island, which Captain William Smith named Seal Island in 1820 because of the number of seals killed there.

Description

Seal Island, the largest in the group, has a coastline of precipitous cliffs, with a sandy beach on the western shore and some small coves. It rises to 125 m in height. It is constituted of poorly consolidated sedimentary rocks which are susceptible to wave and runoff erosion. Other islands in the group are similarly rocky with steep cliffs and few beaches. Ice-cover is seasonal.^[1]

Important Bird Area

The islands, with the intervening marine zone, have been identified as a 514 ha Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support several breeding colonies, totalling some 20,000 pairs, of chinstrap penguins. Other birds nesting in the group in smaller numbers include macaroni penguins (350 pairs), southern giant petrels, imperial shags, Cape petrels, Wilson's storm petrels, snowy sheathbills and kelp gulls. Antarctic fur seals breed on the islands, with around 600 seal pups born each year. Southern elephant, Weddell, leopard and crabeater seals haul out there.^[1]

References

1 2 3 "Seal Islands". BirdLife data zone: Important Bird Areas. BirdLife International. 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-17.

South Shetland Islands

Major	Clarence Deception Elephant Greenwich King George Livingston Low Nelson Robert Smith Snow

Minor	Aitcho Barrientos Bilyana Cecilia Emeline Jorge Kilifarevo Pasarel Riksa Araguez Astor Barlow Basso Beslen Boatin Borceguí Bridgeman Chiprovtsi Cornwall Cornwallis Craggy Dee Desolation Dinea Dufayel Dunbar Aspis Balsha Melyane Pogledets Zavala Eadie Express Gibbs Glumche Gnomon González Half Moon Heywood Kabile Låvebrua Meade Cave Pisanitsa Zverino Miladinovi Montufar Ongley Onogur Churicheni Grod Kovach Leeve Oescus Osenovlag Redina Svetulka Vilare Penguin Pordim Prisad Prosechen Pyramid Rogozen Romeo Rowett Rugged San Telmo Seal Sierra Square End Stoker Sugarloaf Table Tatul Tirizis Toledo Treklyano Valchedram Window Withem Wood Zebil Zed Esperanto Koshava Lesidren Phanagoria

Rocks, stacks, reefs spits and banks	Aim Rocks Alepu Avren Belchin Bizone Bonert Borceguí Bowler Buchino Caraquet Chabrier Channel Chaos Chapman Cheshire Cone Cove Cutler Dlagnya Dovizio Eddystone Eliza Emm Enchantress Folger Frederick Galiche Goritsa Grace Graovo Growler Hauken Henfield Hetty Hole Holmes Ibar Indian Keep Knight Koynare Letelier Liberty Lientur Limit Livonia Long Low Lynx Lyutibrod Maglizh Makresh Martello Tower Meldia Mellona Milev Mónica Morris Nancy Napier Nikudin Okol Opaka Ørnen Orsoya Parry Patch Passage Patresh Perivol Pig Potmess Asses Ears Priboy Rabisha Raquelia Reyes Rongel Rosales Rusokastro Salient Sally Sewing-Machine Needles Shearer Simpson Sinbad Skrino Stackpole Stewart Suhache Syrezol Telefon Telish Tenorio The Pointers Tooth Tu Turmoil Tvarditsa Twin Pinnacles Two Summit Upton Vardim Vergilov Vidal Vietor Vodoley Voluyak Weeks

Straits	Boyd English Fildes Glogovo Hell Gates Iglika Izgrev Klimash McFarlane Morton Mugla Neck or Nothing Nelson Orión Osmar Smolensk Villalón

Undersea and subglacial features	Bransfield Trough Macheret Trench Orca Seamount Quiroga Ridge South Shetland Trough Vergilov Ridge Wordie Seamount

Important Bird Areas of Antarctica

Graham Land	Apéndice Island Armstrong Reef Arthur Harbour Avian Island Bates Island Breaker Island Brown Bluff Cape Evensen Cape Wollaston Cierva Point Cockburn Island Cormorant Island Cuverville Island D'Urville Monument Danger Islands Devil Island Dion Islands Dream Island Duroch Islands Eden Rocks Elephant Rocks Gerlache Island Ginger Islands Gourdin Island Guépratte Island Hope Bay Humble Island Joubin Islands Litchfield Island Madder Cliffs Midas Island Moss Islands Murray Island Norsel Point Paulet Island Pearl Rocks Penguin Point Petermann Island Pursuit Point Snow Hill Island Stonington Island Torgersen Island Trinity Island Tupinier Islands Uruguay Island

South Shetlands	Admiralty Bay Ardley Island Aspland Island Baily Head Barnard Point Byers Peninsula Cape Bowles Cape Garry Cape Hooker Cape Lookout Cape Melville Cape Shirreff Cape Wallace Chinstrap Cove Davey Point Eadie Island East of Nelly Point Escarpada Point False Round Point Fur Seal Point Gibbs Island Half Moon Island Harmony Point Heywood Island Jameson Point Kellick Island Lions Rump Milosz Point Mount Elder North Foreland O'Brien Island Owen Island Penguin Island Point Wordie Potter Peninsula Pottinger Point Saddleback Point Seal Islands Stigant Point Stinker Point Tartar Island Vapour Col Yankee Harbour

South Orkneys	Atriceps Island Buchanan Point Cape Davidson Cape Geddes Cape Hansen Cape Robertson Cape Whitson Cheal Point Christoffersen Island Eillium Island Ferguslie Peninsula Ferrier Peninsula Fraser Point Fredriksen Island Gibbon Bay Gosling Islands Graptolite Island Grey Island Inaccessible Islands Larsen Islands Matthews Island Michelsen Island Moe Island Moreton Point Pirie Peninsula Point Martin Return Point Robertson Islands Signy Island Skilling Island Southern Powell Island Watson Peninsula

Coordinates: 60°58′S 55°24′W / 60.967°S 55.400°W / -60.967; -55.400

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Seal Islands (South Shetland Islands)

Description

Important Bird Area

See also

References