South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is a remote British Overseas Territory in the Subantarctic Atlantic Ocean. The territory has no permanent inhabitants; it is governed by a Commissioner based at Stanley in the Falkland Islands. South Georgia, the principal island of the territory, is located about 1400 km (875 mi) east southeast of the Falkland Islands and 1940 km (1210 mi) east northeast of Cape Horn. It is a substantial island, 167 km (104 mi) long and up to 37 km (23 mi) wide, with mountains as high as 2934 m (9626 ft). Capt. James Cook surveyed the island and claimed it for Britain in 1775. There have never been permanent communities on the island, but half a dozen whaling and sealing stations operated along the north coast during the first two thirds of the 20th century. The oldest and largest whaling station, Grytviken, was founded in 1904 at King Edward Cove, a protected inlet of Cumberland Bay on the north coast of the island. The station was abandoned in 1965, but several of its buildings survive and the British Antarctic Survey maintains a scientific station year-round at King Edward Point nearby. Adventure cruise ships visit Grytviken during the summer months. Admiralty numbers are from volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 111.
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
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Adjoining pages: Southwest: Antarctica | West: Falkland Islands
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Posted June 29, 2021. Checked and revised September 25, 2024. Lighthouses: 0. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.