The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories. According to British government language on the topic, "the whole of Antarctica is protected in the interests of peace and science."
The islands have been claimed by three countries, beginning with the United Kingdom since 1908 (since 1962 as part of the equally unrecognized British Antarctic Territory). The islands are also claimed by the governments of Chile (since 1940, as part of the Antártica Chilena province), and by Argentina (since 1943, as part of Argentine Antarctica, Tierra del Fuego Province).
Several countries maintain research stations on the islands. Most of them are situated on King George Island, benefitting from the airfield of the Chilean base Eduardo Frei.
Sixteen research stations are in different parts of the islands, with Chilean stations being the greatest in number.
History
The islands were discovered by British mariner William Smith, in , in 1819, although Dutch mariner Dirck Gerritsz in 1599 or Spanish Admiral Gabriel de Castilla in 1603 might have sighted the South Shetlands, or North or South American sealers might have visited the archipelago before Smith. Smith's discovery was well documented and had wider historical implications beyond its geographic significance.
Chilean scientists have claimed that Amerinds have visited the islands, due to stone artifacts recovered from bottom-sampling operations in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, and Discovery Bay, Greenwich Island; however, the artifacts – two arrowheads – were later found to have been planted. In 1818, Juan Pedro de Aguirre obtained permission from the Buenos Aires authorities to establish a base for sealing on "some of the uninhabited islands near the South Pole".
Captain William Smith in the British merchant brig Williams, while sailing to Valparaíso, Chile, in 1819, deviated from his route south of Cape Horn, and on 19 February 1819 sighted Williams Point, the northeast extremity of Livingston Island. Thus, Livingston Island became the first land ever discovered farther than 60° south. Smith revisited the South Shetlands, landed on King George Island on 16 October 1819, and claimed possession for Britain.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Navy ship San Telmo sank in September 1819 whilst trying to go through the Drake Passage. Parts of her presumed wreckage were found months later by sealers on the north coast of Livingston Island. The crew of San Telmo and the troops onboard, led by Brigadier Rosendo Porlier (a total of 644 men), are believed to be the first known humans to land in Antarctica.
From December 1819 to January 1820, the islands were surveyed and mapped by Lieutenant Edward Bransfield on board the Williams, which had been chartered by the Royal Navy.
On 15 November 1819, the United States agent in Valparaíso, Jeremy Robinson, informed the United States Secretary of State John Quincy Adams of Smith's discovery and Bransfield's forthcoming mission, and suggested dispatching a United States Navy ship to explore the islands, where "new sources of wealth, power, and happiness would be disclosed and science itself be benefited thereby".
The discovery of the islands attracted British and American sealers. The first sealing ship to operate in the area was the brig Espirito Santo, chartered by British merchants in Buenos Aires. The ship arrived at Rugged Island off Livingston Island, where its British crew landed on Christmas Day 1819, and claimed the islands for King George III. A narrative of the events was published by the brig's master, Joseph Herring, in the July 1820 edition of the Imperial Magazine. The Espirito Santo was followed from the Falkland Islands by the American brig Hersilia, commanded by Captain James Sheffield (with second mate Nathaniel Palmer), the first US sealer in the South Shetlands.
The first wintering over in Antarctica took place on the South Shetlands, when at the end of the 1820–1821 summer season, 11 British men from the ship Lord Melville failed to leave King George Island, and survived the winter to be rescued at the beginning of the next season.
Having circumnavigated the Antarctic continent, the Russian Antarctic Expedition of Fabian von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev arrived at the South Shetlands in January 1821. The Russians surveyed the islands and named them, landing on both King George Island and Elephant Island. While sailing between Deception and Livingston Islands, Bellingshausen was visited by Nathaniel Palmer, master of the American brig Hero, who informed him of the activities of dozens of American and British sealing ships in the area.
The name "New South Britain" was used briefly, but was soon changed to South Shetland Islands (in reference to the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland). The name South Shetland Islands is now established in international usage. The two island groups lie at similar distances from the Equator; the Scottish Shetland Islands are 60°N, and warmed by the Gulf Stream, but the South Shetlands at 62°S are much colder. <!-- (See section Climate) -->
Seal hunting and whaling were conducted on the islands during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The sealing era lasted from 1820 to 1908 during which time 197 vessels are recorded as having visiting the islands. Twelve of those vessels were wrecked. Relics of the sealing era include iron try pots, hut ruins, and inscriptions.
Beginning in 1908, the islands were governed as part of the Falkland Islands Dependency, but they have only been permanently occupied by humans since the establishment of a scientific research station in 1944. The archipelago, together with the nearby Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia Island, is an increasingly popular tourist destination during the southern summer.
Geography
As a group of islands, the South Shetland Islands are located at . They are within the region 61° 00'–63° 37' South, 53° 83'–62° 83' West. The islands lie south of the Falkland Islands, and between (Deception Island) and (Clarence Island) northwest and north from the nearest point of the Antarctic continent, Graham Land.