TheWeddell Islands are a group of small islands and rocks lying 1.9 km (1.2 mi) south ofSaddle Island and 9 km (5.6 mi) north of the western end ofLaurie Island, in theSouth Orkney Islands ofAntarctica. They were probably first seen during a joint cruise by CaptainsNathaniel B. Palmer andGeorge Powell in December 1821. The name first appears onJames Weddell's chart resulting from his exploration of the South Orkney Islands in 1823.
A 30 ha site, comprising the largest island and some smaller islands immediately to the west, with the intervening marine area, has been designated anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies totalling some 28,000 pairs ofPygoscelis penguins, estimated from 2011 satellite imagery, breeding along the lower slopes of the coastline. Other birds confirmed as breeding in the area includeCape andsnow petrels.[1]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from"Weddell Islands".Geographic Names Information System.United States Geological Survey. 
60°37′51″S44°49′23″W / 60.63083°S 44.82306°W /-60.63083; -44.82306
 | ThisSouth Orkney Islands location article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |