cember, 2008

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@South Georgia and the South Sandwich

Introduction
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Background:

The islands, which have large bird and seal populations, lie
approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been
under British administration since 1908 - except for a brief period
in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia,
was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. Famed explorer
Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated
attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months
later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a
successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the
Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and
is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from
the British Antarctic Survey. Recognizing the importance of
preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993,
extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 nm to 200 nm around each
island.

Geography
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Location:

Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of
the tip of South America

Geographic coordinates:

54 30 S, 37 00 W

Map references:

Antarctic Region

Area:

total: 3,903 sq km
land: 3,903 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia
Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist
of 11 islands

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than Rhode Island

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

NA km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate:

variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year
interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as
snow

Terrain:

most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and
mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep,
glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of
volcanic origin with some active volcanoes

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m

Natural resources:

fish

Land use:

arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with som