Half Moon Island

Half Moon Island
Geography
Half Moon Island from Kuzman Knoll, Livingston Island, with Greenwich Island in the background
Location of Half Moon Island in the South Shetland Islands
Location	Antarctica
Coordinates	62°35′S 59°55′W / 62.59°S 59.91°W / -62.59; -59.91
Archipelago	South Shetland Islands
Area	171 ha (420 acres)
Country
Antarctica
Demographics
Population	0
Additional information
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System

Half Moon Island is a minor Antarctic island, lying 1.35 km (0.84 mi) north of Burgas Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula region. Its surface area is 171 hectares (420 acres).^[1] The Argentine Cámara Base is located on the island. It is only accessible by sea and by helicopter; there is no airport of any kind. The naval base is operational occasionally during the summer, but is closed during the winter.

Flora and fauna

Plants found on the island include several lichen and moss species as well as Antarctic Hairgrass.^[1]

The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of about 100 pairs of south polar skuas. Other birds nesting on the island include chinstrap penguins (2000 pairs), Antarctic terns (125 pairs), kelp gulls (40 pairs), Wilson's and black-bellied storm petrels, Cape petrels, brown skuas, snowy sheathbills and imperial shags.^[1]

Weddell and Antarctic fur seals regularly haul out on the beaches. Southern elephant seals have been recorded.^[1] Whales are often seen patrolling the shores.

Access

The island is used as a stop during Antarctic cruises, with the peak of visitation during November–March. There is a 2,000 m (2,200 yd) walking track on the southern part of the Island which allows tourists to get a close view of the wildlife (mainly chinstrap penguins and skuas), and of the surrounding mountainous scenery of nearby Livingston and Greenwich Islands. The path begins on the south side of Menguante Cove, runs westwards along the beach to Cámara Base, then turns north along the head of Menguante Cove, and eventually ascends northeastwards to the top of Xenia Hill.^[2]

Google Street View

In September 2010, Google added Street View imagery of Half Moon Island to its Google Earth and Google Maps services.^[3] The expansion of Google Street View onto the island means all seven continents had imagery through the service.^[4] As the island has no roads, the images appear to have been taken with a camera on a tripod. The shadow of the photographer can clearly be seen if one were to move the view so as to look at the ground. Also, the iconic Pegman from Google was replaced with a Penguin, due to the island's use as a breeding colony by them.

Images

The wreck of an old whaling boat, located at the south end of Island.
Half Moon Island.
View of Cámara Base as seen from Xenia Hill.
View of Cámara Base.

Maps

L.L. Ivanov et al., Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands (from English Strait to Morton Strait, with illustrations and ice-cover distribution), 1:100000 scale topographic map, Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria, Sofia, 2005
L.L. Ivanov. Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islands. Scale 1:120000 topographic map. Troyan: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2009. ISBN 978-954-92032-6-4

Half Moon Island map
Topographic map

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Half Moon Island". BirdLife data zone: Important Bird Areas. BirdLife International. 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
↑ Google (March 13, 2012). "Half Moon Trail". Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
↑ "Official Google Blog: Explore the world with Street View, now on all seven continents". Google. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
↑ Halliday, Josh (September 30, 2010). "Google Street View: No more privacy for penguins as Antarctica gets mapped". The Guardian (London). Retrieved March 13, 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Half Moon Island.

Images from Half Moon Island
Videos and photographs of birds of Half Moon Island (including chinstrap penguin, Antarctic shag, pale-faced sheathbill, Wilson's storm petrel and kelp gull) on the Internet Bird Collection
"Google Street View hits Antarctic". BBC.

South Shetland Islands

Major	Clarence Deception Elephant Greenwich King George Livingston Low Nelson Robert Smith Snow

Minor	Aitcho Barrientos Bilyana Cecilia Emeline Jorge Kilifarevo Pasarel Riksa Araguez Astor Barlow Basso Beslen Boatin Borceguí Bridgeman Chiprovtsi Cornwall Cornwallis Craggy Dee Desolation Dinea Dufayel Dunbar Aspis Balsha Melyane Pogledets Zavala Eadie Express Gibbs Glumche Gnomon González Half Moon Heywood Kabile Låvebrua Meade Cave Pisanitsa Zverino Miladinovi Montufar Ongley Onogur Churicheni Grod Kovach Leeve Oescus Osenovlag Redina Svetulka Vilare Penguin Pordim Prisad Prosechen Pyramid Rogozen Romeo Rowett Rugged San Telmo Seal Sierra Square End Stoker Sugarloaf Table Tatul Tirizis Toledo Treklyano Valchedram Window Withem Wood Zebil Zed Esperanto Koshava Lesidren Phanagoria

Rocks, stacks, reefs spits and banks	Aim Rocks Alepu Avren Belchin Bizone Bonert Bowler Buchino Caraquet Chabrier Channel Chaos Chapman Cheshire Cone Cove Cutler Dlagnya Dovizio Eddystone Eliza Emm Enchantress Folger Frederick Galiche Goritsa Grace Graovo Growler Hauken Henfield Hetty Hole Holmes Ibar Indian Koynare Letelier Liberty Lientur Limit Livonia Long Low Lynx Lyutibrod Maglizh Makresh Martello Tower Meldia Mellona Milev Mónica Morris Nancy Napier Nikudin Okol Opaka Ørnen Orsoya Parry Patch Passage Patresh Perivol Pig Potmess Asses Ears Priboy Rabisha Raquelia Reyes Rongel Rosales Rusokastro Salient Sally Sewing-Machine Needles Shearer Simpson Sinbad Skrino Stackpole Stewart Suhache Syrezol Telefon Telish The Pointers Tooth Tu Turmoil Tvarditsa Twin Pinnacles Upton Vardim Vergilov Vietor Vodoley Voluyak Weeks

Straits	Boyd English Fildes Glogovo Hell Gates Iglika Izgrev Klimash McFarlane Morton Mugla Neck or Nothing Nelson Orión Osmar Smolensk Villalón

Undersea and subglacial features	Bransfield Trough Macheret Trench Orca Seamount Quiroga Ridge South Shetland Trough Vergilov Ridge Wordie Seamount

Important Bird Areas of Antarctica

Graham Land	Apéndice Island Armstrong Reef Arthur Harbour Avian Island Bates Island Breaker Island Brown Bluff Cape Evensen Cape Wollaston Cierva Point Cockburn Island Cormorant Island Cuverville Island D'Urville Monument Danger Islands Devil Island Dion Islands Dream Island Duroch Islands Eden Rocks Elephant Rocks Gerlache Island Ginger Islands Gourdin Island Guépratte Island Hope Bay Humble Island Joubin Islands Litchfield Island Madder Cliffs Midas Island Moss Islands Murray Island Norsel Point Paulet Island Pearl Rocks Penguin Point Petermann Island Pursuit Point Snow Hill Island Stonington Island Torgersen Island Trinity Island Tupinier Islands Uruguay Island

South Shetlands	Admiralty Bay Ardley Island Aspland Island Baily Head Barnard Point Byers Peninsula Cape Bowles Cape Garry Cape Hooker Cape Lookout Cape Melville Cape Shirreff Cape Wallace Chinstrap Cove Davey Point Eadie Island East of Nelly Point Escarpada Point False Round Point Fur Seal Point Gibbs Island Half Moon Island Harmony Point Heywood Island Jameson Point Kellick Island Lions Rump Milosz Point Mount Elder North Foreland O'Brien Island Owen Island Penguin Island Point Wordie Potter Peninsula Pottinger Point Saddleback Point Seal Islands Stigant Point Stinker Point Tartar Island Vapour Col Yankee Harbour

South Orkneys	Atriceps Island Buchanan Point Cape Davidson Cape Geddes Cape Hansen Cape Robertson Cape Whitson Cheal Point Christoffersen Island Eillium Island Ferguslie Peninsula Ferrier Peninsula Fraser Point Fredriksen Island Gibbon Bay Gosling Islands Graptolite Island Grey Island Inaccessible Islands Larsen Islands Matthews Island Michelsen Island Moe Island Moreton Point Pirie Peninsula Point Martin Return Point Robertson Islands Signy Island Skilling Island Southern Powell Island Watson Peninsula

Coordinates: 62°35′24″S 59°54′36″W / 62.59000°S 59.91000°W / -62.59000; -59.91000