 Satellite image of Trinity Island | |
 Location of Trinity Island | |
  Trinity Island Location in Antarctica Show map of Antarctic Peninsula Trinity Island Trinity Island (Antarctica) Show map of Antarctica | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Antarctica |
| Coordinates | 63°47′S60°44′W / 63.783°S 60.733°W /-63.783; -60.733 |
| Archipelago | Palmer Archipelago |
| Length | 24 km (14.9 mi) |
| Width | 10 km (6 mi) |
| Administration | |
| Administered under theAntarctic Treaty System | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
Trinity Island orÎle de la Trinité orIsla Trinidad is anisland 24 km (15 mi) long and 10 km (6 mi) wide in the northern part of thePalmer Archipelago,Antarctica. It lies 37 km (23 mi) east ofHoseason Island, 72.6 km (45 mi) south ofDeception Island in theSouth Shetland Islands, and 10.3 km (6 mi) north-northwest ofCape Andreas on theAntarctic Peninsula. The island was named byOtto Nordenskiöld, leader of the 1901-1904Swedish Antarctic Expedition (SAE) incommemoration ofEdward Bransfield's "Trinity Land" of 1820.
Trinity Island, or the adjoiningDavis Coast stretch of the Antarctic Peninsula, may have been the first part of Antarctica spotted byNathaniel Palmer, on 16 November 1820. He was an American sealer, exploring southwards fromCape Horn in his littlesloop searching for seal rookeries. The whole archipelago was named in his honour in 1897 byAdrien de Gerlache, leader of theBelgian Antarctic Expedition.[1]
Trinity Island is one of the most northerly of the islands of thePalmer Archipelago, a chain of more than fifty islands running parallel with the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is about 24 km (15 mi) long and 10 km (6 mi) wide, with an irregular shape and coastline that encompasses many points, capes, bays, coves, and other subordinate features. Many of these geographic features have been charted and named by various Antarctic expeditions, as well as the nations ofArgentina andBulgaria.
Trinity Island is separated fromTower Island to the east byGilbert Strait.[2] Both islands are separated from the Davis Coast to the south byOrléans Strait, running northeast–southwest.[3] To the southwest,Chayka Passage separates Trinity Island fromSpert Island by just 110 m (360 ft).[4]
Cape Wollaston marks the island's northwest extremity. The name was originally applied by the 1828-1831 BritishChanticleer expedition forWilliam H. Wollaston, commissioner of theRoyal Society from 1818–28.[5] To the east along the north coast is Lorna Cove, 1.1 km (0.68 mi) wide, with ice-covered Albatros Point marking its eastern shore.[6][7] Both features were named for Bulgarianfishing trawlers from the Ocean Fisheries company.[6][7] Continuing east, Cape Neumayer forms the northeast end of Trinity Island. It was charted by the SAE and named after German geophysicistGeorg B. von Neumayer.[8]
On the west coast, Preker Point sits 2.1 km (1.3 mi) to the southwest of Cape Wollaston. It is named for a mountain in theBalkan Mountains.[9] It marks the northern point of Saldobisa Cove, which is 2.3 km (1.4 mi) wide, and was named for an ancientThracian settlement in northern Bulgaria.[9][10] Burya Point, formed by an offshoot ofKetripor Hill, divides Saldobisa from Olusha Cove to the south. It was named forBurya, a village in Bulgaria.[11] Olusha Cove, named for a Bulgarian fishing trawler, is 2.7 km (1.7 mi) wide and marked to the south by Consecuencia Point.[12][13]
Continuing south down the west coast, just north ofLyon Peak, sits Milburn Bay, fed byPastra Glacier. The bay was shown on an Argentine government chart of 1952 and named by theUK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UKAPC) in 1960 forM. R. Milburn, an air traffic control officer of theFalkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE), which photographed this area in the period 1955–57.[14]
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Towards the southern end of the west coast is Krivina Bay, a 5 km (3.1 mi)-wide bay that indents the coast to a depth of 3 km (1.9 mi). Three small, rocky islands lie in the northern part of the bay.[15] Northernmost isImelin Island, 600 m (2,000 ft) long by 380 m (1,250 ft) wide.[16]Dink Island lies 120 m (390 ft) to the south. It is 610 m (2,000 ft) long by 320 m (1,050 ft) wide, and lies 180 m (590 ft) north of Rogulyat Island, which is the southernmost of the three.[17]Rogulyat Island is 350 m (1,150 ft) long by 160 m (520 ft) wide.[18] The bay and its islands are named for locations in Bulgaria: the villages ofDink,[17]Krivina,[15] andRogulyat,[18] andImelin Cave.[16]
On the southwest side of the island is Belimel Bay, a 5.9 km (3.7 mi)-wide bay that indents the coast to a depth of 3.9 km (2.4 mi). It is named forBelimel in northwesternBulgaria.[19] The bay is defined on the north bySpert Island and to the south by Asencio Point.[19] The point is named forAlferez de Navío Salvador Asencio of theUruguay.[20] Tizoin Point, named for a cave in Bulgaria, projects southwards into the middle of the bay.[21]
On the east side of the southern portion of the island, 6 kilometres (4 mi) northeast of Borge Point, Awl Point projects a short distance from the shore. Awl Point was shown on anArgentine government chart of 1952, and named by the UKAPC in 1960 because the point is low in elevation but very sharply pointed in plan, suggesting anawl.[22]
The southernmost point of the island is called Skottsberg Point, which marks the west side ofMikkelsen Harbor, the most prominent feature on the southern half of the island.[1][23]
The Hydrodist Rocks lie 4 nautical miles (7 km) off the west coast of Trinity Island. They were first fixed in January 1964 byHMS Protector (A146) by means of a helicopter-bornehydrodist.[24]
Judas Rock lies 5 nautical miles (9 km) west of the southwest end of the island. First shown on an Argentine government chart of 1950, UKAPC named it in 1960 afterJudas Iscariot because the rock marks the southern extremity of a hazardousshoal area which extends northward from it for 3 nautical miles (6 km) in an otherwise clear passage.[25]
Cape Wollaston, at the northwest extremity of the island, has been designated anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International because it supports a large breeding colony of about 10,000 pairs ofsouthern fulmars. The 116 ha (290 acres) site comprises the ice-free land of the cape. It has an elevation of about 250 m.[26]
A 45-hectare (110-acre) site comprising a rocky headland rising to 250 metres (820 ft)above sea level, at the south-western extremity of the island, has also been designated an IBA because it supports abreeding colony of about 200 pairs ofAntarctic shags.Chinstrap penguins also nest at the site.[27]