Gerlache Island (Isla Gerlache)
Gerlache Island is the largest of the Rosenthal Islands lying off Gerlache Point on the west coast of Anvers Island, in the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica. It was first roughly charted and named "Pointe de Gerlache" by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1903–05, under Jean-Baptiste Charcot, for Lieutenant Adrien de Gerlache. As a result of surveys by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1956–58, this island is considered to be the feature named by Charcot; there is no prominent point in this vicinity which would be visible from seaward.
Gerlache forms part of the Rosenthal Islands Important Bird Area (IBA), designated as such by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of gentoo penguins, with about 3000 pairs recorded there in 1987. It lies within ASMA 7 - Southwest Anvers Island and Palmer Basin.
Gerlache forms part of the Rosenthal Islands Important Bird Area (IBA), designated as such by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of gentoo penguins, with about 3000 pairs recorded there in 1987. It lies within ASMA 7 - Southwest Anvers Island and Palmer Basin.
Map - Gerlache Island (Isla Gerlache)
Map
Country - Antarctica
Antarctica is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14200000 km2. Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.