South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2001) | Jan Mayen (2008) | |
Airports | none | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
3,903 sq km land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of some nine islands |
total: 377 sq km
land: 377 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Rhode Island | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. The famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses a small military garrison. The islands have large bird and seal populations and, recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 miles to 200 miles around each island. | This desolate, artic, mountainous island was named after a Dutch whaling captain who indisputably discovered it in 1614 (earlier claims are inconclusive). Visited only occasionally by seal hunters and trappers over the following centuries, the island came under Norwegian sovereignty in 1929. The long dormant Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg volcano resumed activity in 1970; the most recent eruption occurred in 1985. It is the northernmost active volcano on earth. |
Budget | revenues:
$291,777 expenditures: $451,000, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988 est.) |
- |
Climate | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow | arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog |
Coastline | NA km | 124.1 km |
Constitution | adopted 3 October 1985 | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jan Mayen |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by UK civil commissioner Donald A. LAMONT, representing Queen ELIZABETH II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is the garrison town | territory of Norway; since August 1994, administered from Oslo through the county governor (fylkesmann) of Nordland; however, authority has been delegated to a station commander of the Norwegian Defense Communication Service |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | - |
Disputes - international | claimed by Argentina | none |
Economy - overview | Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK. | Jan Mayen is a volcanic island with no exploitable natural resources. Economic activity is limited to providing services for employees of Norway's radio and meteorological stations on the island. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m |
lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
highest point: Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg 2,277 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | the flag of Norway is used |
Geographic coordinates | 54 30 S, 37 00 W | 71 00 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in this century, live on South Georgia | barren volcanic island with some moss and grass |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1993) | 0 sq km |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply |
Location | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America | Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 4 nm
contiguous zone: 10 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | defense is the responsibility of Norway |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) | - |
Natural hazards | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism | dominated by the volcano Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg; volcanic activity resumed in 1970; the most recent eruption occurred in 1985 |
Natural resources | fish | none |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001, to be replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited (July 2001 est.) |
no indigenous inhabitants
note: personnel operate the Long Range Navigation (Loran-C) base and the weather and coastal services radio station |
Ports and harbors | Grytviken | - |
Radio broadcast stations | none | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (there is one radio and meteorological station) (1998) |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken |
- |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | - |
Terrain | most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes | volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers |
Waterways | none | - |