Edwards Islands (Canisteo Peninsula)

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Edwards Islands
Adelie penguin with pup IMG 1202.jpg
Adélie penguins breed on the islands
Antarctica location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Edwards Islands
Location in Antarctica
Geography
Location Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica
Coordinates 73°53′00″S103°08′00″W / 73.88333°S 103.13333°W / -73.88333; -103.13333 Coordinates: 73°53′00″S103°08′00″W / 73.88333°S 103.13333°W / -73.88333; -103.13333
Total islands20
Administration
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited

The Edwards Islands are a group of about 20 small islands, mostly ice free in summer, lying off the south-western tip of the Canisteo Peninsula, which projects into the eastern Amundsen Sea between Cranton and Ferrero Bays, on the Walgreen Coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. [1] They were plotted from air photos taken by U.S. Navy Squadron VX-6 in January 1960, and were named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for Z T Edwards, chief quartermaster on the USS Glacier during the U.S. Navy Bellingshausen Sea Expedition to this area in February 1960. [2] [3]

Contents

Important Bird Area

A 178 ha site, comprising the larger ice-free islands of the Edwards group and the intervening marine area, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of about 58,000 Adélie penguins, estimated from 2010 satellite imagery. [1]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Edwards Islands". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  2. "Edwards Islands". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  3. "Edwards Islands". Gna-GeographicNamesOfTheAntarctic1stEdition1981_djvu. p. 606. Retrieved 2012-02-25.