Matthews Island is the largest of theRobertson Islands in theSouth Orkney Islands offAntarctica. It lies immediately south-east ofCoronation Island, from which it is separated by a narrow channel known asthe Divide. Matthews Island was mapped as part of Coronation Island until January 1957 when aFalkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) party established its insularity. It was named by theUK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1959 for Drummond H. Matthews, a FIDS geologist atSigny Island in 1956.[1]
The island is part of the Robertson Islands NorthImportant Bird Area (IBA), identified as such byBirdLife International because it supports substantialbreeding colonies ofchinstrap penguins totalling about 35,000 pairs, of which some 15,000 pairs nest on Matthews Island.[2]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from"Matthews Island".Geographic Names Information System.United States Geological Survey.
60°45′S45°9′W / 60.750°S 45.150°W /-60.750; -45.150
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