275 images Created 5 Dec 2022
South Georgia
South Georgia is a small, isolated and inhospitable island which including the South Sandwich Islands, makes up an archipelago located in the southern Atlantic Ocean in the Antarctic. It is 103 miles/165 kilometers long and 22 miles/35 kilometers wide. The South Sandwich Islands lie about 430 miles/700 kilometers southeast of South Georgia. There are no permanent residents on South Georgia due to its remote location and lack of any infrastructure. There are about 30 - 40 people living on the island at any one time of whom are scientists conducting polar scientific research.
Captain James Cook was the first person known in history to set foot on South Georgia Island in 1775. This famed explorer documented the wildlife on South Georgia and proclaimed it as, “having an abundance of southern elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals on the island". And this is true. South Georgia is abundant with wildlife. It is considered one of the most dense examples of biodiversity in the world and is a pristine wonderland of snow, ice and wildlife.
South Georgia island, is the most important penguin and seabird breeding area in the world. It is an Antarctic island that has been referred to as an Antarctic oasis because of the huge numbers of penguins and seals that breed there. One of the most famous explorers, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men on The Endurance, became trapped in pack ice between South Georgia and Antarctica. They finally made it to Elephant Island. Shackleton and 5 of his men, left the rest of the crew at Wild Point on Elephant Island, and sailed a lifeboat to South Georgia. They hiked across spiky mountains and steep cliffs until reaching a whaling station called Stromness. All of Shackleton's men were saved. Shackleton was buried in South Georgia, in Grytviken, and his grave is there today.
Captain James Cook was the first person known in history to set foot on South Georgia Island in 1775. This famed explorer documented the wildlife on South Georgia and proclaimed it as, “having an abundance of southern elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals on the island". And this is true. South Georgia is abundant with wildlife. It is considered one of the most dense examples of biodiversity in the world and is a pristine wonderland of snow, ice and wildlife.
South Georgia island, is the most important penguin and seabird breeding area in the world. It is an Antarctic island that has been referred to as an Antarctic oasis because of the huge numbers of penguins and seals that breed there. One of the most famous explorers, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men on The Endurance, became trapped in pack ice between South Georgia and Antarctica. They finally made it to Elephant Island. Shackleton and 5 of his men, left the rest of the crew at Wild Point on Elephant Island, and sailed a lifeboat to South Georgia. They hiked across spiky mountains and steep cliffs until reaching a whaling station called Stromness. All of Shackleton's men were saved. Shackleton was buried in South Georgia, in Grytviken, and his grave is there today.
