San Telmo Island

San Telmo Island (a.k.a. Telmo Island) is an island forming the west side of Shirreff Cove on the north-west coast of Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It has a surface area of 22 hectares (54 acres).[1]

Not to be confused with Isla San Telmo, an island off the coast of Panama.
For other uses, see San Telmo (disambiguation) and St. Elmo (disambiguation).
San Telmo Island
Location of Livingstone in the South Shetland Islands
San Telmo Island
Location of San Telmo Island
San Telmo Island
San Telmo Island (Antarctica)
Geography
LocationAntarctica
Coordinates62°28′S 60°49′W
ArchipelagoSouth Shetland Islands
Area22 ha (54 acres)[1]
Administration
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System
Demographics
Populationuninhabited
Topographic map of Livingston Island.

History

Named by the UK-APC in 1958 after the Spanish vessel San Telmo commanded by Captain Rosendo Porlier, which was the flagship of a Spanish naval squadron bound for Callao (Peru) to reinforce colonial forces there fighting the independence movements in Spanish America. Very severe weather was encountered in Drake Passage in about 61S, 60W, but hawser after hawser parted and she was ultimately left to her fate in about 62S. Some of her spars and her anchor-stock were found by sealers on nearby Half Moon Beach in about 1821.

Antarctic Specially Protected Area

The island, along with nearby Cape Shirreff, has been designated an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA 149) for the diversity of its plant and animal life, especially its penguin and fur seal breeding colonies.[2]

See also

Map
  • L.L. Ivanov et al., Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands (from English Strait to Morton Strait, with illustrations and ice-cover distribution), 1:100000 scale topographic map, Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria, Sofia, 2005
  • Protected area Cape Shirreff. Management Plan and Map.

References
  1. L.L. Ivanov. Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islands. Scale 1:120000 topographic map. Troyan: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2009. ISBN 978-954-92032-6-4
  2. "Cape Shirreff and San Telmo Island, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands" (PDF). Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 149: Measure 2, Annex H. Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. 2005. Retrieved 2013-10-02.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document: "San Telmo Island". (content from the Geographic Names Information System) 


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.