Sturge Island
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Through Antarctica
Description
The island is roughly a parallelogram in shape, with long east and west coasts and shorter coasts facing north-west and south-east. Of volcanic origin, it is about 12 km (7.5 mi) in width, with a maximum length of 37 km (23 mi), between Cape Freeman in the north and Cape Smyth in the south. It is mostly covered by ice and snow throughout the year. The island's highest point reaches 1,524 m (5,000 ft) with the unclimbed stratovolcano Brown Peak, the highest point in the Balleny chain.
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Discovery and naming
The Balleny Islands were discovered by British mariner John Balleny in 1839. Sturge Island was named after Thomas Sturge, one of the London merchants who had financed Balleny's expedition.
Important Bird Area
A 4,655 ha site on the island has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports extensive breeding colonies of southern fulmars and snow petrels on ice free cliffs along the western and northern coasts.