King George ( born King George Island , aka Waterloo ) - the largest island of the South Shetland Islands . Named by the British navigator Edward Bransfield in honor of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [1] . In Argentina, the island is referred to as Isla 25 de Mayo ( Spanish: Isla 25 de Mayo ) in honor of the day the May Revolution began .
| King George (Waterloo) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Characteristics | |
| Area | 1384 km² |
| Highest point | 655 m |
| Population | 0 pax (2012) |
| Location | |
| Archipelago | South Shetland Islands |
| Water area | South ocean |
| Continent |
|
Content
- 1 Geography
- 2 History
- 3 population
- 4 notes
Geography
The island is 16 miles from the northwest to southeast, and about 43 miles from the north-east to south-west (about 30 to 78 kilometers) [1] .
The southeastern part of the island is heavily indented, has many bays and bays . There are no bays in the northwestern part of the island. The approach to this part of the island is dangerous due to the many pitfalls. Most of the island is occupied by a glacier . Ice -free sections of the island ( oases ) are small hills. Numerous hills are composed of volcanic rocks and severely destroyed by time and weather.
The height of some peaks exceeds 500 m, and the height of glaciers reaches 600 m. The island has a large number of lakes . In winter, water from some lakes leaves due to filtration through the rocks that make up their base.
From Nelson Island, King George Island is separated by Fildes Strait , the width of which reaches 150 meters. Passing through the strait is extremely dangerous due to the large number of pitfalls.
History
The island was discovered and roughly mapped by William Smith on October 16, 1819, at the same time the first landing was made on it, considered the first not only in the South Shetland Islands, but also in the Antarctic. January 22, 1820 the island was re-mapped during the voyage of Edward Bransfield and got its name. In 1821, during the First Russian Antarctic Expedition, Bellingshausen and Lazarev received the Russian name Waterloo in honor of the battle of 1815 [1] . On some maps, in particular Soviet and Russian, there are both names - first English and then in brackets - Russian: King George Island (Waterloo) .
Population
The population of the island is only the personnel of research stations belonging to Argentina ( Jubani ), Brazil ( Commandante Ferras ), China ( Changcheng - the Great Wall ), Poland ( Henryk Arktovsky ), Russia ( Bellingshausen ), Uruguay ( General Artigas ), Peru ( Machu Picchu ), Chile ( President Eduardo Frey ) and South Korea ( King Sejong ).
At the Chilean station "President Eduardo Frey" there is a post office from where everyone can send letters via airmail. During the summer season, regular Chilean military cargo and passenger air flights to the city of Punta Arenas take place approximately once every one to two weeks.
In 2004, the southernmost Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity was erected near the Russian station, the priests of which change annually with the staff of Bellingshausen station [2] .
In the summer, on the island in the region of the Antarctic stations (usually near President Eduardo Frey and Bellingshausen), several dozen tourists regularly land from tourist ships for short excursions.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 William James Mills. Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia. - ABC-CLIO, Inc, 2003. - P. 353-354. - 844 p. - ISBN 1-57607-422-6 .
- ↑ Anna Grave. Seven Churches of Antarctica . Club "My Planet" (March 6, 2015). Date of treatment October 27, 2015.