Magnetic Island (Antarctica)

Magnetic Island

Magnetic Island Location in Antarctica
Geography
Location	Antarctica
Coordinates	68°33′S 77°54′E
Highest elevation	58 m (190 ft)
Administration
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Magnetic Island is a small island in the Donskiye Islands group in the Donskiye Islands group lying 500 m north-east of Turner Island, off the Breidnes Peninsula, Vestfold Hills, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarctica.

Discovery and naming

The island was mapped by Norwegian cartographers from aerial photos taken by the Lars Christensen Expedition, 1936–37. It was visited by an Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) party led by Phillip Law on March 3, 1954, and named because magnetic observations taken there by J. Brooks showed the declination to be anomalous.

Important Bird Area

The island forms part of the Magnetic Island and nearby islands Important Bird Area (IBA), comprising Magnetic, Turner, Waterhouse, Lugg, Boyd and Bluff Islands, along with intervening islands and marine area. The site was designated an IBA by BirdLife International because it supports large colonies of Adélie penguins totalling some 29,000 breeding pairs, based on 2012 satellite imagery.

See also

• List of Antarctic and Subantarctic islands

External links

•  This article incorporates public domain material from "Magnetic Island (Antarctica)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.