Annenkov Island
Encyclopedia
Annenkov Island is to the west of the main island of South Georgia. The Pickersgill Islands
are its south west. It is irregularly-shaped and 4 miles (6 km) long and 650 m (2,132.5 ft) high, lying 8 miles (13 km) off the south-central coast of South Georgia.
, who named it Pickersgills Island for Lieutenant Richard Pickersgill of the expedition ship HMS Resolution. Resighted in 1819 by a Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
on the Vostok, who, thinking he was the discoverer of the island, named it Annenkov Island for Lieutenant Mikhail Annenkov, officer on the expedition ship. The name Pickersgill has become established for a group of islands 15 miles (24 km) to the southeast — see Pickersgill Islands
.
, Annenkov is one of the few rat
-free islands of the South Georgia archipelago. And as Bellinghausen lamented there is "not a single shrub nor any vegetation" on the island.
500 wandering albatross
pairs breed here.
Landings are only allowed here with permission.
It is one of the few places in South Georgia where fossil
s may be found.
, 0.2 mile (0.321868 km) long, located north-northeast of Olstad Peak in central Annenkov Island. Mapped by the British Antarctic Survey
in 1972–73 and so named because its irregular shape is controlled by several intrusions of andesite
along its north shore.
Pickersgill Islands
The Pickersgill Islands are a small archipelago to the west of the main island of South Georgia. They are southeast of Annenkov Island and west-southwest of Leon Head, South Georgia.-History of Name:...
are its south west. It is irregularly-shaped and 4 miles (6 km) long and 650 m (2,132.5 ft) high, lying 8 miles (13 km) off the south-central coast of South Georgia.
History
It was discovered in January 1775 by a British expedition under James CookJames Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
, who named it Pickersgills Island for Lieutenant Richard Pickersgill of the expedition ship HMS Resolution. Resighted in 1819 by a Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen was an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, cartographer and explorer, who ultimately rose to the rank of Admiral...
on the Vostok, who, thinking he was the discoverer of the island, named it Annenkov Island for Lieutenant Mikhail Annenkov, officer on the expedition ship. The name Pickersgill has become established for a group of islands 15 miles (24 km) to the southeast — see Pickersgill Islands
Pickersgill Islands
The Pickersgill Islands are a small archipelago to the west of the main island of South Georgia. They are southeast of Annenkov Island and west-southwest of Leon Head, South Georgia.-History of Name:...
.
Wildlife
A Site of Special Scientific InterestSite of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
, Annenkov is one of the few rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
-free islands of the South Georgia archipelago. And as Bellinghausen lamented there is "not a single shrub nor any vegetation" on the island.
500 wandering albatross
Wandering Albatross
The Wandering Albatross, Snowy Albatross or White-winged Albatross, Diomedea exulans, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae, which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was the first species of albatross to be described, and was long considered the same species as the Tristan...
pairs breed here.
Landings are only allowed here with permission.
Geology
Annenkov's highest point is Olstad Peak (54°29′S 37°5′W), which rises to 650 m (2,132.5 ft). Olstad Peak was surveyed by the South Georgia Survey in the period 1951–57, and named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee for Ola Olstad, Norwegian zoologist, member of the Norwegian expedition under Harald Horntvedt, 1927–28, and chief scientist of the Norwegian expedition under Nils Larsen, 1928-29.It is one of the few places in South Georgia where fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s may be found.
Intrusion Lake
Intrusion Lake (54°29′S 37°4′W) is a lakeLake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
, 0.2 mile (0.321868 km) long, located north-northeast of Olstad Peak in central Annenkov Island. Mapped by the British Antarctic Survey
British Antarctic Survey
The British Antarctic Survey is the United Kingdom's national Antarctic operation and has an active role in Antarctic affairs. BAS is part of the Natural Environment Research Council and has over 400 staff. It operates five research stations, two ships and five aircraft in and around Antarctica....
in 1972–73 and so named because its irregular shape is controlled by several intrusions of andesite
Andesite
Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...
along its north shore.
See also
- Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
- History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsHistory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsThe history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is relatively recent. When European explorers found the islands, they were uninhabited, and their hostile climate, mountainous terrain, and remoteness made subsequent settlement difficult...
- List of Antarctic islands north of 60° S
- Scientific Committee on Antarctic ResearchScientific Committee on Antarctic ResearchThe Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is an interdisciplinary body of the International Council for Science . It was established in February 1958 to continue the international coordination of Antarctic scientific activities that had begun during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58...