Shag Rocks, South Georgia
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The Shag Rocks ( es, Islas Aurora) are six small
islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...
s, as opposed to islands, in the westernmost extreme of South Georgia, west of the main island of South Georgia and off the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
. The Shag Rocks are located at . further southeast is Black Rock, which is located at . The Shag Rocks cover a total area of less than . Situated on the South Georgia Ridge, they have a peak elevation above sea level of , and stand in water approximately deep. Temperatures average , rarely climbing above . There is no significant vegetation, but the rocks are covered by the
guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
of seabirds. The main wildlife found on the rocks are the
South Georgia shag The South Georgia shag (''Leucocarbo georgianus''), also known as the South Georgia cormorant, is a marine cormorant native to South Georgia and a few other subantarctic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. Taxonomy The South Georgia shag is one ...
s,
prions Prions are misfolded proteins that have the ability to transmit their misfolded shape onto normal variants of the same protein. They characterize several fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative diseases in humans and many other animals. It i ...
and
wandering albatross The wandering albatross, snowy albatross, white-winged albatross or goonie (''Diomedea exulans'') is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae, which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was the last species of albatross to be desc ...
es.


History

The Shag Rocks were discovered by Jose de la Llana in 1762 with the Spanish ship ''
Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
'', and originally named the
Aurora Islands The Aurora Islands was a group of three phantom islands first reported in 1762 by the Spanish merchant ship ''Aurora'' while sailing from Lima to Cadiz. The Aurora's officers reported sighting them again in 1774. The Spanish ship ''San Miguel'' ...
, after his ship. They were visited by the Spanish ship '' San Miguel'' in 1769, again by the ''Aurora'' in 1774, and in 1779 by the '' Princesa'' and the ''Dolores''. In 1794 the Auroras were finally mapped by the Spanish corvette ''
Atrevida Wilma Cosmé (born 16 January 1966, in San Juan, Puerto Rico), better known by her stage name Sa-Fire, is a Puerto Rican singer. Sa-Fire is one of the few freestyle singers to cross over into the pop world. She has been featured in various mag ...
''. However, the Aurora Islands are considered by many to have been a mistaken sighting that was coincidentally near the Shag Rocks, which were known to sealers prior to 1823. They were later rediscovered by James P. Sheffield and given their current name, probably because shags and other seabirds frequent them. They were charted by
Discovery Investigations The Discovery Investigations were a series of scientific cruises and shore-based investigations into the biology of whales in the Southern Ocean. They were funded by the British Colonial Office and organised by the Discovery Committee in London, wh ...
personnel on the ''
William Scoresby William Scoresby (5 October 178921 March 1857) was an English whaler, Arctic explorer, scientist and clergyman. Early years Scoresby was born in the village of Cropton near Pickering south-west of Whitby in Yorkshire. His father, William ...
'' in 1927. The first known landing was made in 1956 when Argentine geologist
Mario Giovinetto Mario Giovinetto (born 1933, La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) is an Argentine glaciologist, climatologist and geographer. He is a Canadian citizen with permanent resident status in the US. Career Mario Giovinetto was active in ...
was lowered from a helicopter to collect rock samples.


Government

The Shag Rocks form part of the
British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
of
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = , song = , image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg , map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...
. Before 1985 they came within the
Falkland Islands Dependencies The Falkland Islands Dependencies was the constitutional arrangement from 1843 until 1985 for administering the various British territories in Sub-Antarctica and Antarctica which were governed from the Falkland Islands and its capital Port Sta ...
.
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 ...
lays claim to the Shag Rocks and Black Rock. Black Rock and Shag Rocks are on the route from the Falkland Islands to South Georgia Island, on a
seamount A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abru ...
of
Scotia Ridge The Scotia Arc is the island arc system forming the north, east and south border of the Scotia Sea. The northern border, the North Scotia Ridge, comprises (from west to east) Isla de los Estados at the tip of Tierra del Fuego, the Burdwood, Davis, ...
. Britain in 1985 formed its overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which includes Black Rock and Shag Rocks. It now assumes responsibility for preservation and defence of the area.


See also

*
Composite Antarctic Gazetteer The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about t ...
*
History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands The history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is relatively recent. When European explorers discovered the islands, they were uninhabited, and their hostile climate, mountainous terrain, and remoteness made subsequent settlement ...
* List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands * List of Antarctic islands north of 60° S *
Rockall Rockall () is an uninhabitable granite islet situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom claims that Rockall lies within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is part of its territory, but this claim is not recognised by Ireland. ...


References


External links


CIA World Factbook Entry ''South Georgia''The Shag Rocks, South Atlantic Ocean at Britlink.ONC U-19 South Georgia; South Sandwich Islands
(map including the Shag Rocks) {{SGSSI Uninhabited islands of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Islands of South Georgia