Powell Island is a narrow island long and wide, lying between

Coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

and

Laurie Island Laurie Island is the second largest of the South Orkney Islands. The island is claimed by both Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica, and the United Kingdom as part of the British Antarctic Territory. However, under the Antarctic Treaty S ...

s in the central part of the

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula 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 co ...

. Its southern end lies 7 km east of the south-western extremity of

Coronation Island Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, long and from wide. The island extends in a general east–west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest rising to . History T ...

, between

Lewthwaite Strait Lewthwaite Strait () is a passage wide, lying between Coronation Island and Powell Island in the South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Penins ...

and

Washington Strait Washington Strait () is a passage 3 miles (4.8 km) wide between Fredriksen and Powell Islands on the west and Laurie Island and several smaller islands on the east, in the South Orkney Islands. Discovered in December 1821 on the occasion of ...

History

The island was discovered in the course of the joint cruise by Captains George Powell and

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 Stoni ...

in December 1821. It was correctly charted, though unnamed, on Powell's map published in 1822; it was subsequently named for Powell on an Admiralty chart of 1839.

Birds

An area including part of southern Powell Island (south of

John Peaks The John Peaks () are prominent snow-covered peaks, high, at the southern end of Coronation Island, north of Powell Island and east of Signy Island in the South Orkney Islands. They were probably first sighted by Captain George Powell and Captai ...

on Coronation Island), along with neighbouring Christoffersen, Fredriksen,

Michelsen Michelsen is a Danish- Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Mikkel/ Michael". There are related English, German, Swedish and other spellings of this name. People with the name Michelsen include: People *Albert Michelsen (1893-1964), Am ...

and Grey Islands, with some other (unnamed) islands lying offshore, has been identified as a 2688 ha

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 ...

as it supports several significant

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envir ...

breeding colonies. The boundary of the IBA is defined by the boundary of Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) 111.

References

Islands of the South Orkney Islands Seabird colonies Penguin colonies {{SouthOrkneys-geo-stub

History

Birds

See also

References