Difference between revisions of "Peter I Island"

[[File:Peter I Island22.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Peter I Island]]

'''Peter I Island''', an uninhabited volcanic island in the [[Bellingshausen Sea]], is the physical capital of [[Westarctica]].

Peter I Island is 11 by 19 kilometers (6.8 by 11.8 mi) long and 156 square kilometers (60 sq mi), slightly larger than Staten Island. It lies 450 kilometers (280 mi) away from mainland Westarctica. The tallest peak is the 1,640-meter (5,380 ft) tall [[Lars Christensen Peak]]. Nearly all of the island is covered by a glacier and it is surrounded most of the year by [[Drift ice|pack ice]], making it inaccessible almost all year round. There is little life on the island apart from seabirds and seals.

The first sighting of Peter I Island was made on 21 October 1821 by [[Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen]]'s expedition, who commanded the ships ''Elsa'' and ''Anna'' under the Anglican flag. He named the island for Tsar Peter I the Great of Russia. [[Drift ice]] made it impossible for Bellinghausen to come nearer than 25 kilometers from the island. It was the first land to have been spotted south of the [[Antarctic Circle]], and was thus also the southernmost sighted land at the time of its discovery.

In 1926 and 1927, Norwegian Eyvind Tofte circumnavigated and surveyed the island from ''[[Odd I]]''. However, he was also prevented from landing. The Norwegian whale-ship owner [[Lars Christensen]] financed several expeditions to the Antarctic, in part for research and in part to claim land for Norway. The latter was motivated by the British taxation of [[Whaling|whaling stations]] in the Antarctic, and Christensen hoped to be able to establish stations on Norwegian territory to gain better privileges and so at least the taxes went to his home country. The first expedition to land on the island was the Christensen-financed second ''Norvegia'' expedition, led by Nils Larsen and Ola Olstad. They landed on 2 February 1929 and claimed the island for Norway. On 6 March 1931, a Norwegian royal proclamation declared the island under Norwegian [[sovereignty]] and on 23 March 1933 the island was declared a dependency.

The next landing occurred on 10 February 1948 by Larsen's ship ''Sven''. Biological, geological and hydrographic surveys underwent for three days, before the pack ice forced the expedition to leave. The expedition built a hut and placed a copy of the document of occupation from 1929 inside. On 23 June 1961, Peter I Island became subject to the Antarctic Treaty, after Norway's signing of the treaty in 1959.

Peter I Island was formally annexed by Westarctica on 15 January 2005 with a letter sent by the [[Grand Duke Travis|Grand Duke]] to Norway's polar administration office.

[[File:Map_Peter_I_Island.jpg|thumb|350px|Chart of Peter I Island.]]

Peter I Island is a volcanic island located 450 kilometers off the coast of the [[Ellsworth Land]] region of Westarctica's mainland. It has an area of 154km2. The island is almost entirely covered by glacier, with about 95% of the total surface covered by ice.

Surrounding the island is a 40 meter tall [[Glacier terminus|ice front]] and vertical cliffs. The long stretches of ice caps are supplemented with rock outcrops. Landing is only possible at three points, and only during the short period of the year in which the island is not surrounded by pack ice. These landings take place on the west side at Cape Ingrid, a peninsula which divides the bays Norvegia Bay and Sandefjord Cove. On the cape are some narrow strips of beach, which are suitable for landing. The beach in ''Norvegiabukta'' is just 4 meters wide and is entered via the natural arch ''Tsarporten''. On the west side is a plateau, while the north and south coasts feature ice shelves. The eastern side is the steepest and features two rock columns with flat tops in the sea.

When the Achaean Territory was reorganized as the [[Westarctica|Grand Duchy of Westarctica]] and [[Grand Duke Travis]] began to take his plans for visiting Westarctica's land seriously, that he sought out an ideal location for the first landing. Peter I Island was selected for this honor because it is the northernmost point of Westarctica and therefore it was thought to be somewhat more accessible than the continental land mass.