Stonington Island is a rocky island lying northeast of Neny Island in the eastern part of

Marguerite Bay Marguerite Bay or Margaret Bay is an extensive bay on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is bounded on the north by Adelaide Island and on the south by Wordie Ice Shelf, George VI Sound and Alexander Island. The mainland coast on th ...

off the west coast of

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee and ...

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 ...

. It is long from north-west to south-east and wide, yielding an area of . It was formerly connected by a drifted snow slope to

Northeast Glacier Northeast Glacier is a steep, heavily crevassed glacier on the west side of Hemimont Plateau, long and wide at its mouth, which flows from McLeod Hill westward and then south-westwards into Marguerite Bay between the Debenham Islands and Roman ...

on the mainland. Highest elevation is ''Anemometer Hill'' which rises to .

History

Stonington Island was chosen as the site for the

East Base East Base on Stonington Island is the oldest American research station in Antarctica, having been commissioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939. The station was built as part of two US wintering expeditions – United States Antarctic Service Expe ...

of the

United States Antarctic Service The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...

(USAS) Expedition (1939–41). It was named after

Stonington, Connecticut The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and W ...

, home port of the sloop ''Hero'' in which 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 ...

sighted the Antarctic continent in 1820.

Station E

The island was also home to the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

(BAS)

Station E Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

and the

Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE) was an expedition from 1947–1948 which researched the area surrounding the head of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. Background Finn Ronne led the RARE which was the final privately sponsored exp ...

, and was the base of operations for many historic Antarctic Peninsula surveying missions in the 1940s. Station E was occupied until 23 February 1975 and the main building was known as Trepassey House, it was cleaned up and repaired in 1992. The huts are protected under the

Antarctic Treaty russian: link=no, Договор об Антарктике es, link=no, Tratado Antártico , name = Antarctic Treaty System , image = Flag of the Antarctic Treaty.svgborder , image_width = 180px , caption ...

Historic sites

A protected area on the island consists of the buildings and artifacts at East Base (with their immediate environs) that were erected and used during the two US wintering expeditions. The size of the area is about north-south, from the beach to

adjacent to

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

, and east-west. It has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 55) following a proposal by the US to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM). The British Station E

research station Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also many types of resear ...

is also considered to be of historical importance in relating to both the early period of exploration and the later BAS history of the 1960s and 1970s, and it has been similarly designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 64) following a proposal by the United Kingdom to the ATCM.

Significant Events

On 22nd December 2022, two British citizens, Caius and Rosie, traveling on board the expedition cruise ship ''

Greg Mortimer Greg Mortimer (born 10 December 1952) is an Australian mountaineer. Mortimer is notable as one of the first two Australians (with Tim Macartney-Snape) to successfully climb Mount Everest, on 3 October 1984. Their ascent, without supplemental o ...

'' were legally married in a simple ceremony conducted by a Marriage Officer appointed by the Commissioner of the British Antarctic Territory, becoming the first people in history to be married at Stonington Island.

Environment

Climate

Important Bird Area

A circular, 500 ha site on the island has been designated 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 breeding colony of about 135 pairs of

imperial shag The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (''Leucocarbo atriceps'') is a black and white cormorant native to southern South America, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including ...

s. Other birds breeding at the site include

south polar skua The south polar skua (''Stercorarius maccormicki'') is a large seabird in the skua family, Stercorariidae. An older name for the bird is MacCormick's skua, after explorer and naval surgeon Robert McCormick, who first collected the type specimen. ...

s and

Antarctic tern The Antarctic tern (''Sterna vittata'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. It ranges throughout the southern oceans and is found on small islands around Antarctica as well as on the shores of the mainland. Its diet consists primarily of small fis ...

Features

Anemometer Hill Anemometer Hill () is a hill high northeast of Fishtrap Cove on Stonington Island, in Marguerite Bay, Antarctica. It was surveyed by the East Base party of the U.S. Antarctic Service, 1939–41, which built its base on this island, and so named by ...

, northeast of

Fishtrap Cove Fishtrap Cove () is a small cove northwest of Boulder Point on the southwest side of Stonington Island, close off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was first surveyed by the United States Antarctic Service, 1939–41, and resurveyed in ...

on Stonington Island *

Gull Channel Gull Channel is a channel wide between Dynamite Island and Stonington Island, along the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was first surveyed by the United States Antarctic Service The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly ...

, between

Dynamite Island Dynamite Island is a small, low, rocky island in Back Bay, lying east of Stonington Island, off the Fallières Coast on the west side of Graham Land. It was first surveyed by the United States Antarctic Service The United States Antarctic ...

and Stonington Island *

Haulaway Point Haulaway Point () is a small rocky point midway along the northeast side of Stonington Island, close off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was first surveyed by the United States Antarctic Service, 1939–41. It was resurveyed in 1946– ...

, midway along the northeast side of Stonington Island * Mast Hill, about 100 meters from the western end of Stonington Island *

Tragic Corner Tragic Corner () is a bluff rising to about 750 m and marking the northeast end of Boulding Ridge, located between Todd Glacier and McClary Glacier on Fallières Coast. So named by United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) because ...

, a bluff marking the northeast end of Boulding Ridge

References

External links

Newsreel footage of Stonington Base, 1964
{{Coord, 68, 11, S, 67, 00, W, display=title Islands of Graham Land Fallières Coast Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Seabird colonies Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica