The South Orkney Islands (Spanish: Islas Orcadas) are a group of sub-antarctic islands situated at latitudes 60°50' to 60°83' S, and longitudes 44°25' to 46°25' W in the Southern Ocean. Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... Latitude, denoted by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ... Map of Earth showing curved lines of longitude Longitude, sometimes denoted λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ...

Orginally from the CIA World Factbook. ... Image File history File links Union Flag / Union Jack: Flag of the United Kingdom For more information, see Court of the Lord Lyon, Flags. ...

Geography and climate

The archipelago comprises four main islands. Coronation Island is the largest island; its highest point is Mount Nivea and rises to 1266 m above sea level. Laurie Island is the easternmost of the islands. The other islands are the smaller Powell Island and Signy Island as well as a few tiny ones named Saddle Islands. In total, these island have a surface of about 620 km², most of which is covered with ice. An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. ... The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International dUnités). ... Laurie Island (Spanish:Isla Lauría) is the second largest of the South Orkney Islands. ... Signy Island is a small antarctic island in the South Orkney Islands group at latitude 60°43 S and longitude 45°36 W. It is about 6. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ...

The Inaccessible Islands about 15 nm to the west are also considered part of the South Orkneys. A nautical mile is a unit of length. ...

The climate of the South Orkneys is generally cold, wet, and windy. The average temperatures top at 0°C and fall to about -10°C in winter (i.e., in July). The extrema reach about 12°C and -44°C, respectively. The degree Celsius (°C or ℃ (Unicode 0x2103)) is a unit of temperature named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who first proposed a similar system in 1742. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ...

History

The South Orkney Islands were discovered in 1821 by two sealers: the American Nathaniel Brown Palmer and the British George Powell. Powell named Coronation island thus because it was the year of the coronation of King George IV. He called the archipelago "Powell's group". 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Nathaniel Brown Palmer (1799 - 1877) was a sailor in the United States Navy. ... British coronations are held in Westminster Abbey. ... George IV King of the United Kingdom George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762–26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820. ...

In 1823, James Weddell visited the islands, gave the archipelago its present name and also renamed some of the islands. 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... James Weddell (August 24, 1787 - September 9, 1834) was an English navigator, sealer, and explorer of the antarctic. ...

Subsequently, the islands were frequently visited by sealers and whalers, but no thorough survey was ever done until the expedition of William Speirs Bruce on the Scotia in 1903, which overwintered at Laurie Island. Bruce surveyed the islands, reverted some of Weddell's name changes, and established a meteorological station, which was turned over to Argentinian meteorologists upon his departure in 1904. This station, renamed Orcadas in 1951, is still in operation today and is thus the oldest research station continuously staffed in the Antarctic. William Speirs Bruce (1867-1921) was a London-born Scottish polar scientist and oceanographer. ... 1903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasnt had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. ... Cumulus clouds This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1908, the South Orkneys were claimed by UK as part of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas Islands (also claimed by Argentina) Dependencies. The British Antarctic Survey opened a biological research station on Signy Island in 1947. 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Falkland Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic consisting of two main islands known as East Falkland and West Falkland and a number of smaller islands. ... BAS headquarters The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), formerly the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), is an institute of the Natural Environment Research Council, and has, for the last fifty years, undertaken the majority of Britains scientific research on and around the Antarctic continent. ... Signy Island is a small antarctic island in the South Orkney Islands group at latitude 60°43 S and longitude 45°36 W. It is about 6. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Both the UK and Argentina make territorial claims on the South Orkneys, but as they are further south than 60° S, the archipelago is subject to the Antarctic Treaty. For the Antarctic Treaty from the Gundam anime, see Antarctic Treaty (Gundam) The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate the international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earths only uninhabited continent. ...

See also

• Antarctic Treaty System
• Sub-antarctic islands
• Argentine Antarctica

The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate the international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earths only uninhabited continent. ... The sub-antarctic islands are the islands in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. ... antartctic portion between meridians 25º West and 74º West Argentinian Antarctica (in Spanish, Antártida Argentina) is a sector of Antarctica which Argentina considers part of its National Territory. ...

External links

• Description of Bruce's expedition
• Gorgeous images