At the southernmost point of the Atlantic Ocean, amazing landmasses of volcanic origin are located: South Georgia and the Sandwich archipelago. What do we know about them? Where did these names come from, who was the discoverer and why are they remarkable? Let's take a closer look at this piece of the Atlantic.
South Georgia: description and climate
South Georgia, or Georgia - an island that looks like a paradise for penguins and seals, as well as the archipelago of the same name, which has 9 islands and 4 rocks. It is here that the largest colonies of these animals are located. The area of the island is more than 3500 km2 and most of it is covered with tundra mosses and lichens. Harsh climatic conditions do not allow boasting beautiful natural landscapes.
Ocean meadows covered with small grass and tundra are common here, trees and shrubs are absent. Part of the island at an altitude of more than 300 meters above sea level is covered with glaciers and eternal ice. This land itself is not veryfriendly to people. Rocks, icy wind and constant cloudy weather with snow or light drizzle do not appeal to anyone, and even more so do not dispose to life on such an island. Therefore, only about 30 people live on it. The ocean around does not freeze, only closed bays are at the mercy of ice for a while.
South Sandwich Islands: Description
What is this geographic feature? If you pay attention to the Atlantic Ocean on the world map, then this archipelago is located in its southernmost part, at a distance of 570 km from Georgia. By area, it is the smallest archipelago in the ocean (only 310 km2), consisting of 13 small land areas. Scattered in an arc, volcanic islands are uninhabited rocks. However, not completely uninhabited. This corner of the globe is inhabited by representatives of the fauna, adapted to the harsh subarctic conditions. As for people, the Sandwich Islands are of interest to a greater extent only for biologists. The fact is that it is here that the largest number of albatrosses in the world lives. Seals, king penguins and other inhabitants of the subarctic climate have also chosen these rocky shores.
The largest island of the archipelago - Montague - is famous for its active volcanoes. The last eruption took place in 2008. The Sandwich Islands are believed to be a continuation of the Andes, located in South America. These lands are visited only by arcticexpeditions. Due to the proximity of cold currents, the subantarctic archipelago is ice-bound from May to early December.
Discovery history
South Georgia Island is believed to have been discovered in 1675 by a merchant named Anthony de la Rocher. He sailed from Chile to Brazil and on the way he got into a strong storm, which threw him far to the east. The team was able to hide in the bay of an unknown island, thus becoming the discoverers. The landmass was named after Rocher. Only 100 years later, in 1775, during his second trip, the famous James Cook stumbled upon this piece of land. It was he who described the island and put it on the map. Further, following British laws, the navigator declared it a territory of Great Britain and named it in honor of King George.
Then, James Cook also explored the Sandwich Islands, discovering several small islands and calling them Sandwich Land, but a more detailed description of them appeared in 1819. Then the Lazarev-Bellingshausen expedition discovered 6 more small land areas. So the Atlantic Ocean on the world map was replenished with another archipelago. Changes in its status occurred already at the beginning of the 20th century. The Sandwich Islands have belonged to Great Britain since 1908.
After opening
So, new lands have appeared in the asset, but it is not known what to do with them. Due to the harsh climate, life on the newly discovered islands is almost impossible. The proximity of the Antarctic dictates its own weather conditions: the temperature there in summer does not rise above 5 degrees, and in winter it does notdrops below 2 degrees below zero. And everything would be fine, but constant cold winds and cloudy weather reduce the felt degrees to -10. There is nowhere to hide on the islands, so people came here only to hunt seals and fur seals.
But a lot has changed since the whaling began. Whaling fleets in search of prey sailed to the very south of the Atlantic, and starting in 1904, settlements began to appear on the island of South Georgia. The founder of the first village of Grytviken was a Norwegian with British citizenship Karl Larsen.
Beginning of whaling
Since 1904, seven fishing factories have appeared on George Island. Despite the harsh climate, the whalers prospered, and about 1,000 people lived here permanently. The governing body of the Argentine Fishing Company is located in Grytviken. All of them were located in protected bays on the northern coast of the island.
Worked in this company mostly Norwegians. Lease agreements for whalers were issued by the English governor. Despite the fact that England formed in 1909 near the whaling base of Grytviken the administrative center - King Edward Point, the archipelagos were controlled by the governor of the Falkland Islands.
Territory War
Argentina has never recognized Britain's right to own South Georgia with the South Sandwich Islands. She made her claims starting in 1938. For some time in the mid-50s, Argentina had a summer base in Tenniente Esquivel inFerguson Bay on Thule Island, located in the southern part of the Sandwich Islands. And from 1976 to 1982, the naval base "Corbet Uruguay" was located there. The British were well aware of the presence of Argentina in their overseas territory, but did not undertake military methods to eliminate it.
It all happened on March 19, 1982. Then a group of Argentines, posing as scrap merchants, occupied an abandoned whaling base in Leith Harbor in South Georgia. And on April 3, she stormed and captured Grytviken.
The British Marines reclaimed the island on April 25, 1982. During the hostilities, 13 thousand British soldiers and 20 thousand Argentines were involved. The defeat in this war led to a change of government in Argentina, and in Great Britain the victory contributed to the growth of patriotism. One writer spoke of this war as follows: "A quarrel between two bald men over a comb." And it was a really senseless war in which people died. Until 2001, there was a small military garrison at King Edward Point. The base has now returned to the British Antarctic Survey.
Islands today
Today, these volcanic islands are of interest mostly for scientific expeditions. In the summer, meteorological studies are carried out on them and observations are made of colonies of unique birds. South Georgia Island is home to the only songbird in Antarctica, the big pipit. There are also many albatrosses, petrels, cormorants, gulls andterns, you can admire handsome penguins and huge rookeries of walruses and seals.
Due to the volcanic activity on the Sandwich Islands, which has been observed since their discovery, the life of people on their territory is almost impossible. But Antarctic expeditions are periodically stationed here. For some time, England planned to develop a tourism business on the islands, but these are very expensive trips.
Attractions
Today, on the island of South Georgia, in the village of Grytviken, there is a museum where you can get acquainted with the history of the archipelago in detail. Some time ago they began to restore the destroyed whaling bases as local attractions. The well-known polar explorer Ernest Shackelton and his assistant Frank Wilde are also buried on the island. But still, the main attraction of these distant archipelagos are colonies of penguins and marine mammals. And near the Sandwich Islands you can watch magnificent giants - whales. Here they are - the most extreme islands of the Atlantic Ocean.
