The Aitcho Islands (''‘Aitcho’'' standing for ''‘H.O.’'' i.e. ''‘Hydrographic Office’'') are a group of minor islands on the west side of the north entrance to

English Strait English Strait is the 10.5-mile (17-km) long and 1.2-mile (2-km) wide strait lying between Greenwich Island and Robert Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Trending southeast-northwest, and entered between Santa Cruz Point and Edward ...

separating

Greenwich Island Greenwich Island (variant historical names ''Sartorius Island'', ''Berezina Island'') is an island long and from (average ) wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area . The name Greenwic ...

and

Robert Island Robert Island or Mitchells Island or Polotsk Island or Roberts Island is an island long and wide, situated between Nelson Island and Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Robert Island is located at . Surface area . T ...

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 ...

, which are situated between

Dee Island Dee Island is the ice-free island lying between Greenwich Island and Aitcho Islands in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica and is separated from Greenwich Island to the south by the wide Orión Passage () and from Aitcho Islands to the nort ...

to the south and

Table Island Table Island is an uninhabited island within the Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut. It lies in Norwegian Bay, north of Devon Island, and is also south Cornwall Island, separated by Belcher Channel. Ekins Island is a small islet ab ...

to the north. The group is separated from Dee Island and

Sierra Island Sierra Island () is a narrow island which is marked by a series of small elevations throughout its length, lying northwest of Dee Island and north of Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Surface area .L.L. IvanovAntarctic ...

to the southwest by ''Villalón Passage'' (). The area was visited by early 19th century

sealers Sealer may refer either to a person or ship engaged in seal hunting, or to a sealant; associated terms include: Seal hunting * Sealer Hill, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica * Sealers' Oven, bread oven of mud and stone built by sealers around 180 ...

operating from nearby

Clothier Harbour Clothier Harbour is the 1.5 km wide bay indenting for 1 km the north coast of Robert Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica between Hammer Point on the northeast and Onogur Islands on the southwest. The harbour was used as a ...

. During the austral summer the islands are often visited by

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

cruise ships with

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

s who land to watch wildlife. The islands were mapped in 1935 during the

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...

investigations carried out by the

Discovery Committee The Discovery Committee was a popular name for the Interdepartmental Committee for the Dependencies of the Falkland Islands established by the British Government to carry out scientific investigations (which became known as ‘Discovery Investigati ...

, and named after the

Hydrographic Office A hydrographic office is an organization which is devoted to acquiring and publishing hydrographic information. Historically, the main tasks of hydrographic offices were the conduction of hydrographic surveys and the publication of nautical cha ...

of the UK

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. Some of the island names were given 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 ...

an Antarctic expeditions between 1949 and 1951.

Islands

The islands and some notable rocks of the Aitcho group are: *

Barrientos Island Barrientos Island is a small, ice-free island in the Aitcho group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Extending , surface area .L.L. Ivanov. Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow an ...

Bilyana Island Bilyana Island ( bg, остров Биляна, ostrov Bilyana, ) is an ice-free island in the Aitcho group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Extending , surface area . The area was visited by earl ...

Cecilia Island Cecilia Island is the ice-free southernmost island of the Aitcho group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Extending , surface area .L.L. IvanovAntarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow ...

, named ''Isla Torre'' by

Chaos Reef Chaos Reef is the confused area of breakers and shoal water in the north extremity of Aitcho Islands group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The area was visited by early 19th century sealers operatin ...

Cheshire Rock Okol Rocks ( bg, скали Окол, ‘Skali Okol’ ska-'li o-'kol) is a group of rocks in the north of Aitcho Islands group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The principal feature in the group is '' ...

Emeline Island Emeline Island is a conspicuous rocky island rising to over in the Aitcho group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The island extends with a surface area of . The area was visited by early 19th cen ...

Jorge Island Jorge Island is an ice-free island in the Aitcho group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Extending , surface area .L.L. IvanovAntarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islan ...

Kilifarevo Island Kilifarevo Island ( bg, остров Килифарево, Ostrov Kilifarevo, ) is an ice-free island in the Aitcho group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The island is situated northwest of Jorge ...

Morris Rock Morris Rock is a rock outcropping that rises to in the northwest extremity of the Aitcho Islands (South Shetland Islands), Aitcho group, English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The area was visited by early 19th century Seal h ...

Okol Rocks Okol Rocks ( bg, скали Окол, ‘Skali Okol’ ska-'li o-'kol) is a group of rocks in the north of Aitcho Islands group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The principal feature in the group is ''L ...

Pasarel Island Pasarel Island ( bg, остров Пасарел, ostrov Pasarel, ) is an ice-free island in the Aitcho group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The island is situated northwest of Barrientos Island ...

* Passage Rock *

Riksa Islands Riksa Islands ( bg, острови Рикса, ‘Ostrovi Riksa’ \'os-trovi 'ri-ksa\) are three adjacent ice-free islands in the Aitcho group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The islands are situa ...

Flora and fauna

Among the bird species found on the islands are chinstrap and

gentoo penguins The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The earli ...

, southern giant petrels, and

skuas The skuas are a group of predatory seabirds with seven species forming the genus ''Stercorarius'', the only genus in the family Stercorariidae. The three smaller skuas, the long-tailed skua, the Arctic skua, and the pomarine skua are called jae ...

. Southern elephant seals are among the larger life forms. Other seals in the region include the Antarctic fur seal and the Weddell seal. There are also a wide variety of lichens and mosses reported. Regular wildlife surveys are conducted to assess the populations of birdlife on the islands.

Maps

* L.L. Ivanov et al., Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands (from English Strait to Morton Strait, with illustrations and ice-cover distribution), 1:100000 scale topographic map, Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria, Sofia, 2005 * L.L. Ivanov. Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islands. Scale 1:120000 topographic map. Troyan: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2010. (First edition 2009. )

References

External links

Images from Aitcho Island
{{Antarctica topics Islands of the South Shetland Islands Tourism sites in Antarctica

Islands

Flora and fauna

See also

Maps

References

External links