Compass Island

For other uses, see USS Compass Island (AG-153).
Compass Island
Compass Island

Location in Antarctica

Geography
Location Antarctica
Coordinates 68°38′S 67°48′W / 68.633°S 67.800°W / -68.633; -67.800Coordinates: 68°38′S 67°48′W / 68.633°S 67.800°W / -68.633; -67.800
Highest elevation 15 m (49 ft)
Administration
None
Demographics
Population Uninhabited
Additional information
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System

Compass Island is a small rocky island 15 metres (50 ft) high, lying in Marguerite Bay 13 kilometres (7 nmi) northwest of the Terra Firma Islands. It was first seen and photographed from the air on February 1, 1937 by the British Graham Land Expedition. It was first visited by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1948, surveyed by them in 1949, and so named by them because of difficulties experienced here with compass bearings, eventually proved to be due to substitution of iron for copper wire in an anorak hood.[1]

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "Compass Island" (content from the Geographic Names Information System).


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.