Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands

Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands in the Southern Ocean. Its name was given by early explorers sighting elephant seals on its shores. It lies 1,253 kilometres (779 mi) west-southwest of South Georgia, 935 kilometres (581 mi) south of the Falkland Islands, and 885 kilometres (550 mi) southeast of Cape Horn. It is within the Antarctic claims of Argentina, Chile and the UK.

The island is approximately an east to west orientation, with a maximum elevation of 2795 ft (852 m) above sea level at Pardo Ridge. Significant named features of the island are Cape Yelcho, Cape Valentine and Cape Lookout at its northeastern and southernmost extremes, and Point Wild, a spit of land on its northern coast. The Endurance Glacier is the main discharge glacier on the island.

Things to see and do

* Gentoo Penguin Colonies
* Elephant seals
* Chinstrap penguins
* Whale watching
* Seals

General Information

Cruise Season - Nov - April
Currency - Pound Sterling (GBP)
Language - English
Land Area - 558 km² approx
Population - 0
Electricity - 2 vertical square pins and one perpendicular below British style
Time - None
International Country Telephone Code - + 44

Port Location - There is no port located at Elephant Island.

Transport Links - Access to the south Shetland Islands is from the Port of Ushuaia, Argentina. There are daily Aerolineas Argentinas flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. LAN Chile (through its LAN Express services) flies a few times a week (currently three) from Santiago de Chile, stopping over in Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas.