Choiseul Sound is a stretch of sea in the Falkland Islands. It runs parallel to Eagle Passage and is between Lafonia and the north of East Falkland. Lively Island is in its mouth. At its entrance, on the northern shore, is the Bertha's Beach Important Bird Area which is also a Ramsar site, recognising it as a wetland of international importance.
It was named by Louis de Bougainville after the French Foreign Secretary, Étienne François, duc de Choiseul. [1]
The name is pronounced "Chisel" in Falkland Islands dialect. [2]
The Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean between 51°S and 53°S on a projection of the Patagonian Shelf, part of the South American continental shelf. In ancient geological time this shelf was part of Gondwana, and around 400 million years ago split from what is now Africa and drifted westwards from it. Today the islands are subjected to the Roaring Forties, winds that shape both their geography and climate.
Choiseul may refer to:
East Falkland is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of 6,605 km2 or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as Lafonia; it is joined by a narrow isthmus where the settlement of Goose Green is located, and it was the scene of the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War.
Pebble Island is one of the Falkland Islands, situated north of West Falkland. It is possibly named after the peculiarly spherical pebbles found at its western tip.
Lafonia is a peninsula forming the southern part of East Falkland, the largest of the Falkland Islands.
The Falkland Sound is a sea strait in the Falkland Islands. Running southwest-northeast, it separates West and East Falkland.
Goose Green is a settlement in Lafonia on East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It lies on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, 2 miles (3.2 km) south-southwest of Darwin. With a population of about 40, it is the third-largest settlement of the Falkland Islands, after Stanley and Mount Pleasant.
Port San Carlos is located on the northern bank of the inlet known as Port San Carlos, off San Carlos Water on the Western coast of East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands. It is sometimes nicknamed "KC" after former owner Keith Cameron.
Puerto Soledad was a Spanish military outpost and penal colony on the Falkland Islands, situated at an inner cove of Berkeley Sound.
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 miles east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 miles from the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 square miles, comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, and the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.
Brenton Loch is an inlet-cum-small fjord in the Falkland Islands. It is one of a handful of sea lochs outside Scotland. It is sometimes known as "Brenton Sound". "Loch" is normally pronounced as "lock" in the English rather than Scottish manner, i.e. without a fricative "ch". The far south of the loch is known as "La Boca" or "The Boca".
Johnson's Harbour is a settlement on the north east coast of East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It is on the shore of Berkeley Sound at the head of Chabot Creek on a bay also named Johnson's Harbour. It has a small store but the FIGAS only lands there for emergencies. Surrounding hills include North Lookout, Diamond Mountain and Hawk Hill.
Port William is a large inlet on the east coast of East Falkland island. A strait called "the Narrows" leads into Stanley Harbour.
Salvador Water or Port Salvador is a bay/inlet on the northeast coast of East Falkland, the largest of the Falkland Islands. It has an intricate shoreline, but could be described as being shaped like an "M".
Concordia Bay is on the north shore of East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It is between Foul Bay and Salvador Water. It is also near Cape Dolphin, and the northern end of the Falkland Sound.
Eagle Passage is a strait in the Falkland Islands, between Lafonia in the southwest of East Falkland, and the smaller islands of Speedwell, Barren and George Island. George Island and Speedwell Island form the stretch of land to the south of the passage while East Falkland forms the northern stretch. The passage is difficult to navigate as ships may founder on the reefs and kelp lying off the surrounding islands.
Mare Harbour is a small settlement on East Falkland, on Choiseul Sound. It is mostly used as a port facility and depot for RAF Mount Pleasant, as well as a deepwater port used by the Royal Navy ships patrolling the South Atlantic and Antarctica, which means that the main harbour of the islands, Stanley Harbour tends to deal with commercial transport.
The Falklands Crisis of 1770 was a diplomatic standoff between Great Britain and Spain over possession of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. These events were nearly the cause of a war between Britain and Spain – backed by France – and all three countries were poised to dispatch armed fleets to defend the rival claims to sovereignty of the barren but strategically important islands.
Bertha's Beach Important Bird Area comprises 3300 ha of coastal wetlands at the entrance to Choiseul Sound, on the east coast of East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands. It lies about 8 km south-east of Mount Pleasant Airport and 40 km south-west of Stanley. It has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because of its significancer for a variety of migratory waders and other waterbirds. Overlapping it is the 4000 ha Bertha's Beach Ramsar site, recognising it as a wetland of international importance.
Bodie Creek, also called Bodie Inlet, is the estuary of Orqueta Creek and other small streams into Choiseul Sound, located south of the settlement of Goose Green in Lafonia, in the centre of East Falkland, Falkland Islands.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Coordinates: 51°55′48″S58°39′29″W / 51.930°S 58.658°W