Palmer Archipelago, also known as Antarctic Archipelago, Archipiélago Palmer, Antarktiske Arkipel or Palmer Inseln, is a group of
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
s off the northwestern coast of the
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...
.
It extends from
Tower Island
Tower Island is an Antarctic island long and high. It marks the north-east extent of Palmer Archipelago. It lies north-east of Trinity Island, separated by Gilbert Strait. Both islands are separated from the Davis Coast to the south by ...
in the north to
Anvers Island
Anvers Island or Antwerp Island or Antwerpen Island or Isla Amberes is a high, mountainous island long, the largest in the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica. It was discovered by John Biscoe in 1832 and named in 1898 by the Belgian Antarctic ...
in the south. It is separated by the
Gerlache
Baron Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (; 2 August 1866 – 4 December 1934) was a Belgian officer in the Belgian Royal Navy who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–99.
Early years
Born in Hasselt in eastern Belgium as ...
and
Bismarck straits from the Antarctic Peninsula and
Wilhelm Archipelago
The Wilhelm Archipelago is an island archipelago off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in Antarctica.
Wilhelm Archipelago consists of numerous islands, the largest of which are Booth Island and Hovgaard Island. The archipelago extends f ...
, respectively.
Palmer Archipelago is located at .
History
Adrien de Gerlache
Baron Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (; 2 August 1866 – 4 December 1934) was a Belgian officer in the Belgian Royal Navy who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–99.
Early years
Born in Hasselt in eastern Belgium as t ...
, leader of the
Belgian Antarctic Expedition
The Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899 was the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region. Led by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery aboard the RV ''Belgica'', it was the first Belgian Antarctic expedition and is considered the firs ...
(1897–1899), discovered the archipelago in 1898. He named it Archipelago Palmer for American Captain
Nathaniel Palmer
Nathaniel Brown Palmer (August 8, 1799June 21, 1877) was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He gave his name to Palmer Land, Antarctica, which he explored in 1820 on his sloop ''Hero''. He was born in Stoning ...
, who navigated these waters in 1820.
Both
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 ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
have operated research stations there.
Islands
The archipelago includes:
Gallery
File:Gerlache Strait.png, Map of Gerlache Strait and Palmer Archipelago
File:Palmer_Archipelago_map.png, Locator (basemap) for the Palmer Archipelago, centered near 65°00′S 64°00′W
See also
References
External links
{{Portal bar, Geography, Islands
Archipelagoes of the Southern Ocean
Argentine Antarctica
British Antarctic Territory
Islands of Antarctica