 Snow Hill Island, January 1999 | |
 Location of Snow Hill Island | |
  Snow Hill Island Location in Antarctica Show map of Antarctic Peninsula Snow Hill Island Snow Hill Island (Antarctica) Show map of Antarctica | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Antarctica |
| Coordinates | 64°28′S57°12′W / 64.467°S 57.200°W /-64.467; -57.200 |
| Archipelago | James Ross Island group |
| Length | 33 km (20.5 mi) |
| Width | 12 km (7.5 mi) |
| Administration | |
| Administered under theAntarctic Treaty System | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | uninhabited |
Snow Hill Island is an almost completely snowcapped island, 33 km (21 mi) long and 12 km (7.5 mi) wide, lying off the east coast of theAntarctic Peninsula. It is separated fromJames Ross Island to the north-east byAdmiralty Sound and fromSeymour Island to the north byPicnic Passage. It is one of several islands around the peninsula known asGraham Land, which is closer toChile,Argentina and South America than any other part of theAntarctic continent.[1]
The island was discovered on 6 January 1843 by a British expedition underJames Clark Ross who, uncertain of its connection with the mainland, named it Snow Hill because its snow cover stood out in contrast to the bare ground of nearbySeymour Island. Its insular character was determined in 1902 by theSwedish Antarctic Expedition in the shipAntarctic, underOtto Nordenskjöld, who spent the winters of 1901, 1902, and 1903 there, using it as a base to explore the neighbouring islands and theNordenskjold Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.[2] The American artist Frank Wilbur Stokes, who was aboard theAntarctic, collected fossils from Snow Hill Island. After returning to the United States in 1903, those fossils were described by the palaeontologist Stuart Weller. They include bivalves, gastropods, ammonites, and a lobster.[3] The lobster,Hoploparia stokesi, was the first arthropod described from Antarctica.
The wooden hut built by the main party of the Swedish Expedition in February 1902, also known asNordenskjöld House, has been designated aHistoric Site or Monument (HSM 38), following a proposal by Argentina and the United Kingdom to theAntarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.[4]
Ice-freeSpath Peninsula, 4.0 mi (6.5 km) long, forms the island's northeast extremity.[5] The northernmost point of Snow Hill Island is Cape Lázara. The cape was named "Cabo Costa Lázara" by the command of the Argentine shipChiriguano of theArgentine Antarctic Expedition, 1953–54, after Teniente (lieutenant)Costa Lázara, an Argentine navy pilot who was killed in a flying accident at theEspora Naval Air Base.[6][7]
Haslum Crag is a prominent rock crag close to the island's north coast. It stands 2 nautical miles (4 km) northeast of ice-free Station Nunatak, which rises 150 m (490 ft) tall. They were first seen by members of theSwedish Antarctic Expedition (SAE), 1901–04, underOtto Nordenskiöld, and surveyed by theFalkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1952.[8][9] Nordenskiöld named Station Nunatak because of its proximity to the expedition's winter station, and he gave Haslum Crag its original name, "Basaltspitze".[9] Concerned that "Basaltspitze" could be mistaken for descriptive information, theUnited Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee changed it to Haslum Crag, honoringH.J. Haslum, second mate on theAntarctic, the ship of the Swedish expedition.[8] This area of the northeast coast consists of Cretaceous sedimentary rocks with abundant fossils of ammonites, gastropods, and bivalves. There are numerous basalt dikes that project up through the sedimentary rocks near the station Nunatak.[10]
Day Nunatak and Dingle Nunatak appear within the mainice cap of the island. Both were named by theUK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1995. Day Nunatak was named forCrispin Mark Jeremy Day, a long-servingBritish Antarctic Survey (BAS) General Field Assistant. He was atRothera Station, 1986–89, 1991–92, 1993–94; and was a member of the BAS field party in theJames Ross Island area from 1994 to 1995.[11] Dingle Nunatak was named afterRichard Vernon Dingle, Senior BAS geologist, and a member of the BAS field party in theJames Ross Island area from 1994 to 1995.[12]
Sanctuary Cliffs is a rock cliffs at the north edge of the island's central ice cap. It was first surveyed by the SAE, which named them "Mittelnunatak," presumably because of their position near the middle of the north coast of theisland. Following survey by FIDS in 1952, it was reported that the term "cliffs" was more suitable than "nunatak" for this feature. UK-APC recommended an entirely new and more distinctive name be approved, and it was dubbed Sanctuary Cliffs in recognition of the way the cliffs provide shelter from the prevailing southwesterly winds.[13]
A site at the south-western extremity of the island, comprising 263 ha ofsea ice adjacent to the coast, has been identified as anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International because it supports abreeding colony of about 4000 pairs ofemperor penguins. It is one of only two such colonies on land in the Antarctic Peninsula region, the other being that at theDion Islands which is now no longer existent.[14] This colony is also unique in terms of its breeding cycle compared to more southern breeding sites. In winter, incubating males don't feel the darkness of the sky unlike in more southerly populations. Because the ice on which the colony stands on is affected by the sun much later in the year than in other colonies, the development of the emperor chicks is slightly delayed. This gives the chicks in Snow Hill a lot more time to lose enough of their fur to head to the sea unlike in other populations, whose chicks arrive to the sea mostly covered in fur down to a point where they cannot swim yet. This developmental delay also gives tourists an opportunity to visit the colony while the chicks are still under the care of the adults.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Geological Survey.
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