Clarence Island (russian: остров Шишкова) is the easternmost island 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 1 ...

, off the coast of

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 cont ...

. It is claimed by

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

as part of

Argentine Antarctica Argentine Antarctica ( es, Antártida Argentina or Sector Antártico Argentino) is an area of Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. It consists of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the ...

, by

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

as part of the

British Antarctic Territory The British Antarctic Territory (BAT) is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories, of which it is by far the largest by area. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between ...

, and by

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

as part of the

Chilean Antarctic Territory The Chilean Antarctic Territory or Chilean Antarctica (Spanish: ''Territorio Chileno Antártico'', ''Antártica Chilena'') is the territory in Antarctica claimed by Chile. The Chilean Antarctic Territory ranges from 53° West to 90° West and f ...

. The name dates back to at least 1820 and is now established in international usage, except for Russia, where it has been known as Shishkova Island since its discovery by Russians in 1821. The island is long and oriented in a south-southwest to north-northeast direction. Ravelin Ridge and Urda Ridge occupy the interior of the mountainous island. The summit Mount Irving, high, rises north of

Cape Bowles Cape Bowles is a cape forming the southern extremity of Clarence Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It was named in 1820 by Edward Bransfield, Master, Royal Navy, while exploring the islands in the brig ''Williams''. Important ...

, the southernmost point. The southeast slopes of the two ridges are drained by Dobrodan,

Highton Highton is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. With views across Geelong, Corio Bay and the surrounding region, Highton is located along the banks of the Barwon River (Victoria), Barwon River and across t ...

, Treskavets, Orcho, and Banari Glaciers, and their northwest slopes — by Skaplizo, Giridava, and Bersame Glaciers. There are two small islands just east of Clarence Island, the northern one is named Sugarloaf Island. Chinstrap Cove lies on the northwest coast of the island, while Istros Bay, Smith Cove, and Kutela Cove lie on its southeast side. Antarctic explorer

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing ...

observed and considered landing on Clarence Island after escaping the pack ice of the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha ...

but instead landed on nearby

Elephant Island 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. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...

. The high point on Clarence Island was reached by members of the Joint Services Elephant Island Expedition in 1970, which also completed a survey of Elephant and Clarence Island.

Maps

Chart of South Shetland including Coronation Island, &c.
from the exploration of the sloop Dove in the years 1821 and 1822 by George Powell Commander of the same. Scale ca. 1:200000. London: Laurie, 1822.
British Antarctic Territory.
Scale 1:200000 topographic map. DOS 610 Series, Sheet W 61 54. Directorate of Overseas Surveys, Tolworth, UK, 1972.
South Shetland Islands: Elephant, Clarence and Gibbs Islands.
Scale 1:220000 topographic map. UK Antarctic Place-names Committee, 2009.
Antarctic Digital Database (ADD).
Scale 1:250000 topographic map of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Since 1993, regularly upgraded and updated.

Notes

References

Clarence Island.
SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica

External links

Clarence Island.
Adjusted Copernix satellite image Islands of the South Shetland Islands {{ClarenceIsland-geo-stub

Maps

See also

Notes

References

External links