Visokoi Island
Geography | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 56°42′S 027°12′W / 56.700°S 27.200°WCoordinates: 56°42′S 027°12′W / 56.700°S 27.200°W |
Archipelago | South Sandwich Islands |
Length | 7.2 km (4.47 mi) |
Width | 4.8 km (2.98 mi) |
Highest elevation | 1,005 m (3297 ft) |
Highest point | Mount Hodson |
Administration | |
United Kingdom | |
Demographics | |
Population | Uninhabited |
Visokoi Island is an uninhabited island in the Traversay Islands group of the South Sandwich Islands. It was discovered in 1819 by a Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who initially named the island Thorson Island in honor of Lieutenant , though the tsarist government later renamed the island Visokoi ("high"), after its conspicuous height, in response to Thorson's participation in the Decembrist revolt.[1][2] The island was surveyed in 1930 by Discovery Investigations (DI) personnel, who charted and named many of its features.[3][4] Several of the names given by DI were changed in 1953 by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) to avoid redundancy with nearby features.[3][5]
Geography[]
The island is 7.2 km (4.5 miles) long and 4.8 km (3.0 miles) wide, capped by Mount Hodson, a volcanic peak (1,005 metres or 3,297 feet).[2] The peak is named after Sir Arnold Weinholt Hodson, a governor of the Falkland Islands.[6] The island has a strong smell of sulphurous fumes.[5] The island is surrounded by an underwater shelf that extends out approximately 2.3–6 km (1.4–3.7 mi), at a depth of approximately 200 m (660 ft).[7]
Finger Point marks the island's northern tip. It was named descriptively by DI in 1930.[8]
Wordie Point is the south-west point of the island. DI personnel named it for Scottish geologist and polar explorer James Wordie.[9] 1.5 nmi (2.8 km) north of it is Sulphur Point, whose reddish ground is streaked with sulphur. Originally called West Bluff by DI personnel, it was renamed by UK-APC to avoid confusion with West Bluff on nearby Zavodovski Island.[5]
Irving Point, first discovered by von Bellingshausen's expedition, forms the eastern extremity of the island. DI personnel named it "Penguin Point," but UK-APC changed it to avoid redundancy with other similarly named locations. Irving Point was chosen for Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander , who sketched the South Sandwich Islands from the Discovery II.[3]
1.3 nmi (2.4 km) northwest of Irving Point lies Saddle Bluff, named by DI personnel.[10] Nearby Shamrock Hill, a prominent volcanic cone, was named by the survey party from because they occupied this feature as a survey station on Saint Patrick's Day, 1964.[11]
Mikhaylov Point is a small promontory marking the island's southern extremity. It was named "Low Point" by DI personnel, but the name was changed by UK-APC to avoid duplication with Low Point on nearby Vindication Island. The name "Mikhaylov Point" was recommended for , artist aboard the Vostok during the Russian expedition under von Bellingshausen.[4]
See also[]
- List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
References[]
- ^ Mills, William James (2003). Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia. A - L. ABC-CLIO. p. 680. ISBN 978-1-57607-422-0. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Visokoi Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ a b c "Irving Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Mikhaylov Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ a b c "Sulphur Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Mount Hodson". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ Advances in Marine Biology. Academic Press. 14 August 2015. p. 21. ISBN 9780128023556.
- ^ "Finger Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Wordie Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Saddle Bluff". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Shamrock Hill". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
Further reading[]
- LeMasurier, W. E.; Thomson, J. W., eds. (1990). Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans. American Geophysical Union. ISBN 0-87590-172-7.
- Hodson Volcano
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey.
- Islands of the South Sandwich Islands
- Volcanoes of the Atlantic Ocean
- Volcanoes of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- Uninhabited islands of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands geography stubs