The Traversay Islands () are a group of three islands—Zavodovski, Leskov and Visokoi—at the northern end of the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.

History

The group was discovered in November 1819 by a Russian expedition under Bellingshausen, who named them for Jean-Baptiste Prevost de Sansac, Marquis de Traversay (1754–1831), a French naval officer who joined the Russian navy in 1791, at the request of an émigré Frenchman in Russian service, admiral Nassau-Siegen. He was Minister of Naval Affairs at Saint Petersburg, 1809–28, and chief promoter of Bellingshausen's Antarctic voyage. The name was previously transliterated as Traverse because it was incorrectly thought that the man commemorated was a Russian.

Geography

Zavodovski Island () lies southeast of South Georgia Island. It is the northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands and the nearest to South Georgia. The island is approximately across with a peak elevation of above sea level. Approximately 50% of the island is composed of tephra. The island is home to around two million breeding chinstrap penguins, making it one of the world's largest penguin colonies. Zavodovski Island featured in the initial part of BBC’s Planet Earth II natural history television series, narrated by David Attenborough and first shown in the UK on 6 November 2016. The programme described life in the harsh environment for the 1.5 million Chinstrap penguins – the largest penguin colony in the world.

Visokoi Island (), which lies to the southeast of Zavodovski, is long and wide, capped by Mount Hodson, a volcanic peak (). The island's eastern tip, Point Irving, is named for the leader of a British exploratory and mapping expedition, Commander John J. Irving; the father of British writer and Holocaust denier, David Irving.

Leskov Island () is located to the west of the main arc of the South Sandwich Islands and is less than long, and lies west of Visokoi. The subduction zone forming the South Sandwich Trench lies to the east of the island arc.

See also

  • List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
  • List of Antarctic islands north of 60° S

References

  • Photograph of Zavodovski Island
  • Aerial photograph of Zavodovski Island This image belongs to John Smellie, Leicester University
  • Photograph of Visokoi Island