Cape Hooker is the south-eastern point of

Low Island Geologically, a low island is an island of coral origin. The term applies whether the island was formed as a result of sedimentation upon a coral reef or of the uplifting of such islands. The term is used to distinguish such islands from high ...

, in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. The feature was roughly charted by nineteenth century sealers; it was further charted by Commander Henry Foster in 1829 but shown as the north-eastern point of the island. Following air photography by the

Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) was an aerial survey of the Falkland Islands Dependencies and the Antarctic peninsula which took place in the 1955–56 and 1956–57 southern summers. Funded by the Colonial ...

in 1956, the charted shape of the island was drastically altered and the name Cape Hooker was applied to its south-eastern point as originally described.

Important Bird Area

The site has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports a large breeding colony of about 10,000 pairs of chinstrap penguins.

References

Hooker, Cape Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Penguin colonies {{LowIsland-geo-stub