Shag Rocks, South Georgia

Shag Rocks, South Georgia

The Shag Rocks
Geography
Coordinates
Area
Highest elevation	75 m (246 ft)
Country
United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	0
Additional information
Also Claimed by Argentina

The Shag Rocks (Spanish: Islas Aurora) are six small islands in the westernmost extreme of South Georgia, 240 km (150 mi) west of the main island of South Georgia and 1,000 km (620 mi) off the Falkland Islands. The Shag Rocks are located at . 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) further southeast is Black Rock. Black Rock is located at .

The Shag Rocks cover a total area of less than 20 hectares (49 acres). Situated on the South Georgia Ridge, they have a peak elevation above sea level of 75 metres (246 ft), and stand in water approximately 319 metres (1,047 ft) deep. Temperatures average −1.2 °C (29.8 °F), rarely climbing above 15 °C (59 °F). There is no significant vegetation.

The main wildlife found on the islands are the South Georgian (Imperial) shags, prions and wandering albatrosses.

The Shag Rocks were possibly discovered by Jose de la Llana in 1762, and originally named the Aurora Islands, after his ship. However, the Aurora Islands are considered by many to have been a mistaken sighting that was coincidentally near the Shag Rocks, which were known to sealers prior to 1823. They were later rediscovered by James Sheffield and given their current name, probably because shags and other seabirds frequent them. They were charted by Discovery Investigations personnel on the William Scoresby in 1927. The first landing on the islands was made in 1956, when an Argentine geologist was lowered from a helicopter to collect rock samples.

Government

The Shag Rocks are uninhabited and so lack any active administration. They form part of the British overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Before 1985 they came within the Falkland Islands Dependencies.

Argentina also lays claim to many islands of the area, including Black Rock and Shag Rocks. The Falklands War of 1982 was fought by Britain and Argentina not only over the territories of the Falkland Islands, but also over South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Black Rock and Shag Rocks are on the route from the Falkland Islands to South Georgia Island, on a seamount of Scotia Ridge.

Britain won the 1982 Falklands War, and in 1985 formed its overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which includes Black Rock and Shag Rocks. It now assumes responsibility for preservation and defence of the area. Argentina, which claims the islands in its constitution and invaded and briefly occupied a number of the islands in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force.

See also

• Aurora Islands
• Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
• History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
• List of Antarctic islands north of 60° S

External links

• CIA World Factbook Entry South Georgia
• The Shag Rocks, South Atlantic Ocean at Britlink.