Penguin Island is an island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

, 1.4 kilometre (0.869921831309729 mi) wide by 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) long, which lies close off the south coast of King George Island and marks the eastern side of the entrance to King George Bay

King George Bay

King George Bay is a large bay on the coast of West Falkland in the Falkland Islands, facing westwards. There are three settlements on the bay Chartres, Dunnose Head and Roy Cove. Storm Mountain is on the north coast. it contains numerous islands, including the Passage Islands....

 in the South Shetland Islands

South Shetland Islands

The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...

. Penguin Island was sighted in January 1820 by a British

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 expedition under Edward Bransfield

Edward Bransfield

Edward Bransfield was a master of the British Royal Navy and considered the discoverer of the continent of Antarctica.-Early life:...

, and so named by him because penguin

Penguin

Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...

s occupied the shores of the island.

Penguin Island is capped by Deacon Peak, a basaltic scoria cone. Deacon Peak was last thought to be active about 300 years ago. Petrel Crater, a maar

Maar

A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption, an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake. The name comes from the local Moselle...

 crater, is located on the east side of the island, and is though to have last erupted in or around 1905.

See also

• Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
• List of Antarctic islands south of 60° S
• List of volcanoes in Antarctica
• SCAR
  Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
  The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is an interdisciplinary body of the International Council for Science . It was established in February 1958 to continue the international coordination of Antarctic scientific activities that had begun during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58...
  
  
• South Shetland Islands
  South Shetland Islands
  The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
  
  
• Territorial claims in Antarctica

External links

• Composite Antarctic Gazetteer.
• on the South Shetland Islands including Penguin Island.