Albatross Island (South Georgia)

Location of Albatross Island in the Bay of Isles, South Georgia

Albatross Island (54°1′S 37°20′W / 54.017°S 37.333°W / -54.017; -37.333) is an island 2 miles (3 km) 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.[1] The eastern headland of the island is called The Pricker, a name which first appeared on a 1931 British Admiralty chart.[2]

The island is rat-free and there is a breeding population of South Georgia pipits here, along with wandering albatrosses and giant petrels.

The island has been designated by the South Georgia Government as a Specially Protected Area, and has been closed to visitors since 2004, to protect vulnerable habitat from trampling.

  1. ^ Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from "Albatross Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. ^ "The Pricker". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 27 July 2018.