Weddell Island

Weddell Island
Isla San José
Former name: Swan Island
Island

Location within the Falkland Islands
Coordinates: 51°52′43″S 61°00′24″W / 51.87861°S 61.00667°W / -51.87861; -61.00667Coordinates: 51°52′43″S 61°00′24″W / 51.87861°S 61.00667°W / -51.87861; -61.00667
Country Falkland Islands
Named for Spanish: St Joseph's Island
Main settlement Weddell Settlement
Area
 • Total 265.8 km2 (102.6 sq mi)
Area rank 3rd
Time zone FKST (UTC−3)
If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively.

Weddell Island (Spanish: "Isla San José") is the third largest of the Falkland Islands. Weddell Island is located to the west of West Falkland and is 265.8 square kilometres (102.6 sq mi) in area. The length of the coastline is 175.7 km (109.2 mi).[1] Until the late 19th century, it was known as Swan Island, a name which is not to be confused with the Swan Islands on the other side of West Falkland.

Stone runs on Weddell Island

History and population

The name Weddell Island comes from James Weddell, an English navigator and explorer who visited the Falklands in the early 19th century. He was well known for his voyages to the Antarctic, and the Weddell Sea and Weddell seal are also named after him.

The small population of the island lives in Weddell Settlement on the east coast, the remainder of the island being run as a sheep farm.

Wildlife

Like many of the Falkland Islands, Weddell Island is known for its wildlife, including penguins, sealions and dolphins. Exotic wildlife, including skunks, rheas, parrots and guanacos were introduced in the 1930s, along with Patagonian foxes (not to be confused with the extinct warrah), which can still be found.

References

  1. ↑ Eurosion: D2.1.1 Inventory Report, page 122.
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This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.