Shag Rocks (South Georgia)

The Shag Rocks are six small islands in the westernmost extreme of South Georgia, 240km west of the main island of South Georgia and 1000km off the Falkland Islands. The Shag Rocks are located at. 16km further southeast is Black Rock. Black Rock is located at. The Shag Rocks cover a total area of less than 20ha. Situated on the South Georgia Ridge, they have a peak elevation above sea level of 75m, and stand in water approximately 319m deep. Temperatures average -1. 2°C, rarely climbing above 15°C. There is no significant vegetation. The main wildlife found on the islands are the South Georgia shags, prions and wandering albatrosses. The Shag Rocks were possibly discovered by Jose de la Llana in 1762, and originally named the Aurora Islands, after his ship. However, the Aurora Islands are considered by many to have been a mistaken sighting that was coincidentally near the Shag Rocks, which were known to sealers prior to 1823. They were later rediscovered by James Sheffield and given their current name, probably because shags and other seabirds frequent them. They were charted by Discovery Investigations personnel on the William Scoresby in 1927. The first landing on the islands was made in 1956, when an Argentine geologist was lowered from a helicopter to collect rock samples.

The Shag Rocks are six small islands in the westernmost extreme of South Georgia, 240km west of the main island of South Georgia and 1000km off the Falkland Islands. The Shag Rocks are located at. 16km further southeast is Black Rock. Black Rock is located at. The Shag Rocks cover a total area of less than 20ha. Situated on the South Georgia Ridge, they have a peak elevation above sea level of 75m, and stand in water approximately 319m deep. Temperatures average -1. 2°C, rarely climbing above 15°C. There is no significant vegetation. The main wildlife found on the islands are the South Georgia shags, prions and wandering albatrosses. The Shag Rocks were possibly discovered by Jose de la Llana in 1762, and originally named the Aurora Islands, after his ship. However, the Aurora Islands are considered by many to have been a mistaken sighting that was coincidentally near the Shag Rocks, which were known to sealers prior to 1823. They were later rediscovered by James Sheffield and given their current name, probably because shags and other seabirds frequent them. They were charted by Discovery Investigations personnel on the William Scoresby in 1927. The first landing on the islands was made in 1956, when an Argentine geologist was lowered from a helicopter to collect rock samples.