King George Island, South Shetland Islands

King George Island is the largest of the South Shetland Islands. It is located 120 kilmeters off the coast of Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. The island was discovered in 1819 and over 90% of its surface is permanently glaciated.

The coastal areas of the island are home to a comparatively diverse selection of vegetation and animal life, including Elephant, Weddell and Leopard seals, and Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins.

Human habitation of King George Island is limited to research stations belonging to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, South Korea, Peru, Poland, Russia, and Uruguay. Most of these stations are permanently manned, carrying out research into areas as diverse as biology, ecology, geology, and palaeontology.

Things to see and do

* Chinstrap Penguin Colonies
* Whale watching
* Seals

General Information

Cruise Season - Nov - April
Currency - Pound Sterling (GBP)
Language - English
Land Area - 1150 km² approx
Population - variable
Electricity - 2 vertical square pins and one perpendicular below British style
Time - None
International Country Telephone Code - + 44

Port Location - There is a port located at Collins Harbour on King George 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.