Danger Islands

Danger Islands
	Danger Islands Location in Antarctica
Geography
Location	Antarctica
Coordinates	63°25′S 54°40′W / 63.417°S 54.667°W
Administration
	Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

The Danger Islands (63°25′S 54°40′W / 63.417°S 54.667°W / -63.417; -54.667 (Danger Islands)) are a group of islands lying 13 nautical miles (24 km; 15 mi) east-south-east of Joinville Island near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.^[1]

Location

The Danger Islands are in the Joinville Island group, which lies in Graham Land to the east of the tip of Trinity Peninsula, which is itself the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Danger Islands are to the east-southeast of Joinville Island.^[2]

Discovery and name

The Danger Islands were discovered on 28 December 1842 by a British expedition under James Clark Ross, who so named them because, appearing among heavy fragments of ice, they were almost completely concealed until the ship was nearly upon them.^[1]

Use by birds

The Danger Islands have been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports Adélie penguin colonies and seabirds.^[3] 751,527 pairs of Adélie penguins (1.5 million individuals) have been recorded in at least five distinct colonies as of March 2018.^[4]^[5] The survey used drones adapted to the cold.^[6]

Islands

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Beagle Island

63°25′S 54°40′W / 63.417°S 54.667°W / -63.417; -54.667. An island lying northeast of Darwin Island in the Danger Islands. Named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) in 1963 after HMS Beagle (Captain Fitzroy), due to its proximity to Darwin Island.^[7]

Darwin Island

Darwin Island 63|26|S|54|46|W}}. The largest of the Danger Islands lying 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi) east-southeast of the east tip of Joinville Island, off the northeast end of Antarctic Peninsula. Discovered in 1842 by a British expedition under James Clark Ross, and named by him for Charles Darwin, noted naturalist.^[8]

Dixey Rock

63°28′S 54°40′W / 63.467°S 54.667°W / -63.467; -54.667. A rock rising 25 metres (82 ft) high above sea level, 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) southeast of Darwin Island in the Danger Islands. Mapped by FIDS in 1953-54 and 1956–58, and photographed from the air by FIDASE, 1956-57. Named by UK-APC in 1980 after David J. Dixey, Head, Nautical Branch 5, Hydrographic Department.^[9]

Earle Island

63°29′S 54°47′W / 63.483°S 54.783°W / -63.483; -54.783. A small island 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) southwest of Darwin Island and marking the southwest end of Danger Islands. Following work in the area from HMS Endurance, 1977–78, it was named after Augustus Earle (born about 1790), artist in HMS Beagle, in association with Beagle Island and other names in the group.^[10]

Heroína Island

63°24′S 54°36′W / 63.400°S 54.600°W / -63.400; -54.600. A small island marking the northeast end of Danger Islands. Named by the Argentine Antarctic Expedition, 1948–49, after the expedition ship Heroína Island. Approved by the United States Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) in 1993.^[11]

Peine Island

63°24′S 54°42′W / 63.400°S 54.700°W / -63.400; -54.700. A small island west of Beagle Island in the Danger Islands. The descriptive name "Islote Peine" (comb island) was given by Ministerio de Defensa, Argentina, 1978. The US-ACAN approved the name in 1993 with the generic term Island.^[12]

Plato Island

63°26′S 54°40′W / 63.433°S 54.667°W / -63.433; -54.667. A small island lying 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) east of Darwin Island in the Danger Islands. The descriptive name "Islote Plato" (plate island) was given by Ministerio de Defensa, Argentina, 1977. The term island is appropriate and replaces "islote" (islet) in the name approved by the US-ACAN in 1993.^[13]