Michelsen Island

South Orkney Islands.

Michelsen Island is a small island in the South Orkney Islands off Antarctica. It is joined to the southern end of Powell Island by a narrow isthmus of occasionally submerged boulders. The island was first observed and roughly mapped in 1821 by Captains George Powell and Nathaniel Palmer. It was named on a map by Captain Petter Sørlle, a Norwegian whaler who made a running survey of the South Orkney Islands in 1912–13.[1]

Important Bird Area

The island lies within an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA 111). It is also part of the Southern Powell Island and adjacent islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports significant seabird breeding colonies.[2]

See also

References

  1. "Michelsen Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  2. "Southern Powell Island and adjacent islands". BirdLife data zone: Important Bird Areas. BirdLife International. 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-19.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "Michelsen Island" (content from the Geographic Names Information System).

Coordinates: 60°44′S 45°2′W / 60.733°S 45.033°W / -60.733; -45.033


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