Prion Island
Encyclopedia
Prion Island is an island
1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-northeast of Luck Point
, lying in the Bay of Isles
, South Georgia. Charted in 1912-13 by Robert Cushman Murphy
, American naturalist aboard the brig Daisy, and so named because he observed petrel
s of the genus Prion
on the island.
The area including the Bay of Isles
along with Grytviken
is one of two ASTIs on the island. As with Albatross Island
, there are various regulations - permits are required to land here; only one boat can land a day; no more than 65 people are allowed on the island, but in groups of 12 or less with a leader; and stays of more than four hours are not allowed. Visitors must not go within 10m of an albatross
or 25m when the birds are courting. There is one permitted landing area on Prion 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...
1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-northeast of Luck Point
Luck Point
Luck Point is a point at the west side of the entrance to Sea Leopard Fjord, in the Bay of Isles, South Georgia. The name appears to have been first used by DI personnel who charted this point during 1929-30....
, lying in the Bay of Isles
Bay of Isles
The Bay of Isles is a bay wide and receding , lying between Cape Buller and Cape Wilson along the north coast of South Georgia. It was discovered in 1775 by a British expedition under James Cook and so named by him because numerous islands lie in the bay, many of which are named after local birds...
, South Georgia. Charted in 1912-13 by Robert Cushman Murphy
Robert Cushman Murphy
Robert Cushman Murphy was an American ornithologist and former Lamont curator of birds for the American Museum of Natural History....
, American naturalist aboard the brig Daisy, and so named because he observed petrel
Petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...
s of the genus Prion
Prion (bird)
The Prions are small petrels in the genera Pachyptila and Halobaena. They form one of the four groups within the Procellariidae , along with the gadfly petrels, shearwaters and fulmarine petrels....
on the island.
The area including the Bay of Isles
Bay of Isles
The Bay of Isles is a bay wide and receding , lying between Cape Buller and Cape Wilson along the north coast of South Georgia. It was discovered in 1775 by a British expedition under James Cook and so named by him because numerous islands lie in the bay, many of which are named after local birds...
along with Grytviken
Grytviken
Grytviken is the principal settlement in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It was so named in 1902 by the Swedish surveyor Johan Gunnar Andersson who found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. It is the best harbour on the island, consisting of a...
is one of two ASTIs on the island. As with Albatross Island
Albatross Island (South Georgia)
Albatross Island is an island southeast of Cape Buller, lying in the Bay of Isles, South Georgia. Charted in 1912–13 by Robert Cushman Murphy, American naturalist aboard the brig Daisy, who gave this name because he observed albatrosses there....
, there are various regulations - permits are required to land here; only one boat can land a day; no more than 65 people are allowed on the island, but in groups of 12 or less with a leader; and stays of more than four hours are not allowed. Visitors must not go within 10m of an albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
or 25m when the birds are courting. There is one permitted landing area on Prion Island.