Clarence Island (South Shetland Islands)

Clarence Island (Russian: остров Шишкова) is the easternmost island in the South Shetland Islands, off the coast of Antarctica. It is claimed by Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica, by Britain as part of the British Antarctic Territory, and by Chile as part of the Chilean Antarctic Territory. The name dates back to at least 1820 and is now established in international usage, except for Russia, where it has been known as Shishkova Island since its discovery by the First Russian Antarctic Expedition in 1821.

Clarence Island
Clarence Island seen from the north, with Cape Lloyd and Jubilee Peak in the foreground
Location of Clarence Island
Clarence Island is located in South Shetland Islands
Clarence Island
Clarence Island
Location in the South Shetland Islands
Clarence Island is located in Antarctica
Clarence Island
Clarence Island
Location in Antarctica
Geography
LocationAntarctica
Coordinates61°12′S 054°05′W / 61.200°S 54.083°W / -61.200; -54.083
ArchipelagoSouth Shetland Islands
Area114.6 km2 (44.2 sq mi)
Length21.46 km (13.335 mi)
Highest elevation1,950 m (6400 ft)
Highest pointMount Irving
Administration
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System
Demographics
Population0

The island is 21.46 km (13.3 mi) long and oriented in a south-southwest to north-northeast direction. Ravelin Ridge and Urda Ridge occupy the interior of the mountainous island. The summit Mount Irving, 1,950 meters (6,398 ft) high,[1][2] rises 6.675 km (4.148 mi) north of Cape Bowles, the southernmost point. The southeast slopes of the two ridges are drained by Dobrodan, Highton, Treskavets, Orcho, and Banari Glaciers, and their northwest slopes — by Skaplizo, Giridava, and Bersame Glaciers. There are two small islands just east of Clarence Island, the northern one is named Sugarloaf Island. Chinstrap Cove lies on the northwest coast of the island, while Istros Bay, Smith Cove, and Kutela Cove lie on its southeast side.[citation needed]

Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition observed and considered landing on Clarence Island after escaping the pack ice of the Weddell Sea but instead landed on the nearby Elephant Island. The high point on Clarence Island was reached by members of the Joint Services Elephant Island Expedition in 1970, which also completed a survey of Elephant and Clarence Island.[3]

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Notes edit

  1. ^ South Shetland Islands: Elephant, Clarence and Gibbs Islands. Archived 9 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Scale 1:220000 topographic map. UK Antarctic Place-names Committee, 2009.
  2. ^ Mount Irving. British Antarctic Territory Gazetteer. Archived 2015-05-08 at the Wayback Machine UK-APC.
  3. ^ Agnew, C. H. (1972). "Elephant Island" (PDF). Alpine Journal. 77: 204–210. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 August 2018.

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