There is such an archipelago, the sea near it floats icebergs and ice fragments, but it itself flows with volcanic lava, few people have come here, but it is a paradise for Antarctic marine animals; In the last century, Argentina and the United Kingdom fought a fierce war over this, but now they do not have a permanent population, and they have become uninhabited islands, which is the South Sandwich Islands. An archipelago that is geographically integrated with the Malvinas Islands (known as the Falkland Islands) and South Georgia.
Icebergs and ice-stained debris floating in the waters off the South Sandwich Islands.
A paradise for Antarctic marine animals
Located at the southern tip of the South Atlantic Ocean, between latitudes 56°18′-59°30′ and 26°-28°30′ west longitude, north of the Weddell Sea, about 2,000 km from the nearest part of the Antarctic continent, the South Sandwich Islands are a group of active volcanic islands composed of 11 main islands and some small islands, with an arc of 390 km, with a total land area of about 311 square kilometers, equivalent to the size of two Xiamen Islands. The South Sandwich Islands, like South Georgia, are now British overseas territories in the southern Atlantic Ocean, about 700 km southeast of the latter and about 2,050 km from the Falklands.
The South Sandwich Islands are located at the southern tip of the South Atlantic Ocean, about 2,000 km from the Antarctic continent and about 2,050 km from the Falklands.
The South Sandwich Islands, consisting of basalt and andesite rocks, cover an area of 310 square kilometres and are uninhabited on the island.
The South Sandwich Islands have a higher latitude and a cold oceanic climate, and because they are in a roaring westerly circulation, the westerly wind belt often meets cold air from the South Pole, bringing long snowstorms in winter and strong winds and waves in the nearby seas. As a result, most of the island is covered with snow and glaciers, and only the northernmost island of Zavodowski is less snowy due to frequent volcanic eruptions. Mount Michael ( 990 meters ) , the fourth highest peak on Sanders Island , has a persistent lava lake , one of the 8 long-standing lava lakes in the world today.
The South Sandwich Islands are an active volcanic island group of 11 main islands and a number of small islands, with an arc of 390 km.
Mount Michael ( 990 meters ) , the fourth highest peak on Sanders Island , has a persistent lava lake , one of the 8 long-standing lava lakes in the world today.
So in a small part of the snow-free area, moss, lichen and some hardy herbs are covered, and it has also become the habitat of Antarctic marine life such as seals, penguins and Antarctic terns. It is estimated that there are 3 million tattooed penguins, more than 52,000 pairs of long-browed penguins, 50,000 pairs of Adélie penguins and tens of thousands of white-browed penguins in the South Sandwich Islands. There are also spotted storks, snow petrels, storm petrels, cormorants, skuas, seagulls and terns, as well as giant storks, with 1,500 pairs on tiny Candelmous Island alone and about 100,000 pairs of silver-gray stormy grebes.
Automatic weather stations are located on Tule And Zavodowski Island, northwest of the protected shoal, an undersea volcano. The white color in the picture is an iceberg.
In addition, pinnipeds include: fur seals (about 500 cubs on Zavodovsky Island), leopard seals, Antarctic elephant seals, crab-eating seals and Weddell seals, which are nourished by a krill-based food chain in the Southern Ocean. But it is such a paradise for Antarctic marine life, but at the beginning of human discovery, it was considered to be a place where birds do not lay eggs, and even Captain Cook, who traveled all his life all over the Southern Ocean, gave up stopping here.
The South Sandwich Islands also include fur seals (about 500 cubs on Zavodovsky Island), leopard seals, Antarctic elephant seals, crab seals and Weddell seals.
The "Sandwich Islands" discovered by Captain Cook
In 1775, Captain James Cook began his voyage in search of the fabled southern continent to bring it into Britain, initially sailing to South Georgia, believing that South Georgia would be "part of the Magical Continent", but later discovering that this was not the case, he continued to sail southeast, and finally discovered eight islands in the southern South Sandwich Islands at "thick fog, blizzard, cold and everything that could put navigation in danger", but "the cold, cold and desolation that nature has given to this area is far beyond imagination", So Captain Cook did not hesitate to leave the South Sandwich Islands behind.
James Cook was ordered three times to go to the Pacific Ocean, discovering Australia and many Pacific islands, dominating the naming of many islands in the Southern Ocean.
But Captain Cook insisted that there must be a land mass in the icebergs that covered the vast Southern Ocean, so he thought that the South Sandwich Islands were the tip of this unknown "sandwich continent". Thus the English transliteration of "Sandwich" "Sandwich" became the name of this string of islands. Later, at the end of 1819, the Russian Belinskojin also sailed here, discovered three islands in the northern part of the South Sandwich Islands, and conducted an investigation for more than half a month, but the South Sandwich Islands were not included in Russian territory.
The South Sandwich Islands are located at the junction of the Scotia subplate with the Antarctic and South American plates, and are volcanically active and seismically strong under the north-south attack
Since earthquake records began in 1921, there have been three landmark earthquakes off the South Sandwich Islands. The white color in the picture shows a floating iceberg.
The reason for this is that the South Sandwich Islands have a harsh climate and are remote and desolate, far from the waterway; Second, the South Sandwich Islands belong to volcanic islands, located at the junction of the Scotia sub-plate and the Antarctic and South American plates, subject to the north-south impact of the two major plates, the South Sandwich Islands are volcanically active and the seismic activity is also very strong. Since seismic records began in 1921, three iconic earthquakes have occurred in the South Sandwich Islands, namely the South Sandwich Trench MS7.8 earthquake on June 27, 1929, the MW7.8 south Sandwich Islands earthquake on May 26, 1964, and the MW7.8 earthquake in the Scotia Sea on November 17, 2013.
A volcanic eruption in the South Sandwich Islands in 2005 added 40 hectares of land.
The South Sandwich Islands are active and elusive, with lava flowing throughout the year, sometimes falling into the icy sea.
In addition, the South Sandwich Islands have a very short formation time, only 3 million years old, submarine volcanic eruptions have shaped the shape of the islands, and these 11 young islands are located on the fastest moving plates of the Earth's crust (7 cm per year), so the geological structure here is active and elusive, with lava flowing all year round, sometimes falling into the cold sea, steaming up a fog that does not know whether it is hot or cold. A volcanic eruption in 2005 also added 40 hectares of land.
A manned Argentine meteorological research station was set up on Theolë Island between 1976 and 1982 and was deported by the British after the Falklands War.
In 1982, the Falklands War broke out between Britain and Argentina, which ended in a British victory.
As a result, the South Sandwich Islands have been dormant as part of the Malvinas Islands (the Falklands for short), with the Governor of the South Sandwich Islands concurrently serving as the Civil Commissioner for the South Sandwich Islands, who is in fact uninhabited for many years. It was not until the Falklands War in 1982 that the South Sandwich Islands re-entered the world's attention, and the British, who won the war in June of that year, expelled the Argentines who occupied The South Sandwich Island, Tule Island, and then established itself as a proper overseas territory with South Georgia in 1985.
Compared to the footfall brought by south Georgia's "Antarctic Adventure" tourism project, the South Sandwich Islands are still deserted. Pictured is a flock of King Penguins from South Georgia
The South Sandwich Islands, which are drifting in the west wind, are still "stubbornly" refusing to be visited by everyone in the midst of the ice wind.
Today, compared to south Georgia's growing "Antarctic exploration" tourism program, the South Sandwich Islands, which are also drifting in the west wind, are still "stubbornly" refusing to be visited by everyone in the ice wind, and even volcanologists can only rely on aerial surveys to study the volcanoes on the South Sandwich Islands. The rough statistics of the various animals on the island are based only on an Antarctic sailor who was lucky enough to avoid the ice floes: Jérôme Ponce.
Last issue in review: South Georgia: the gateway to the Antarctic continent, the last pure land suspended in the furious west wind
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