Elephant Island (South Shetland Islands)

Elephant

Map of Elephant Island, Antarctica
Elephant Location in Antarctica
Geography
Location	Antarctica
Coordinates	61°08′S 55°07′W / 61.133°S 55.117°W / -61.133; -55.117Coordinates: 61°08′S 55°07′W / 61.133°S 55.117°W / -61.133; -55.117
Archipelago	South Shetland Islands
Area	558 km2 (215 sq mi)
Length	47 km (29.2 mi)
Width	27 km (16.8 mi)
Highest elevation	853 m (2,799 ft)
Highest point	Pardo Ridge
Administration
None
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited
Additional information
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty

Elephant Island is an ice-covered mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. Its name was given by early explorers sighting elephant seals on its shores. The island is situated 245 kilometres (152 miles) north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, 1,253 kilometres (779 miles) westsouthwest of South Georgia, 935 kilometres (581 miles) south of the Falkland Islands, and 885 kilometres (550 miles) southeast of Cape Horn. It is within the Antarctic claims of Argentina, Chile and the UK. Brazil has a shelter on the island, Goeldi, supporting the work of up to six researchers each during the summer. and another (Wiltgen), which was dismantled in the summer of 1997/98.

The island is oriented approximately east-west, with a maximum elevation of 853 m (2,799 ft) at Pardo Ridge. Significant named features are Cape Yelcho, Cape Valentine and Cape Lookout at the northeastern and southern extremes, and Point Wild, a spit on the north coast. The Endurance Glacier is the main discharge glacier. Due to slow recoveries and illegal whaling by Soviet Union with support from Japan, numbers of southern right whales visiting Elephant island are still on low level.