Passage Islands Islas del Pasaje | |
|---|---|
 Location of the Passage Islands within the Falkland Islands | |
| Coordinates:51°35′31″S60°43′26″W / 51.592°S 60.724°W /-51.592; -60.724 | |
| Country | Falkland Islands |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (FKST) |
| If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively. | |
ThePassage Islands (Spanish:Islas del Pasaje) are a group of four islands in theFalkland Islands of the SouthAtlantic Ocean. They lie offDunnose Head, West Falkland, at the mouth ofKing George Bay.
The largest of the group is Second Passage Island which is 9 km (5.6 mi) long from east to west and up to 2 km (1.2 mi) wide. Much of the coastline is characterised by cliffs up to 30 metres (98 ft) high. The highest point is 75 metres (246 ft) Sixtus Hill. Pastovergrazing has caused erosion and reduced the cover oftussac. There are several ponds, one of which provides feeding habitat forwaders andwaterfowl. Third and Fourth Passage Islands are 800 m apart and low lying, rising to about 30 metres (98 ft). They were only briefly stocked with cattle in the 1960s and have good tussac coverage.[1]
The Passage Islands group has been identified byBirdLife International as anImportant Bird Area (IBA). Birds for which the site is of conservation significance includeFalkland steamer ducks,gentoo penguins (300 breeding pairs),southern rockhopper penguins (145 pairs),southern giant petrels,striated caracaras,white-bridled finches,blackish cinclodes andCobb's wrens.[1]
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