Difference between revisions of "Peter I Island"

'''Peter I Island''' is an uninhabited volcanic island in the [[Bellingshausen Sea]], 450 kilometres (280 mi) from [[Antarctica]]. Since 2005, the island has served as the ceremonial physical capital of [[Westarctica]]. [[File:Peter I Island22.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Peter I Island]] It is also claimed as a dependency of Norway. Peter I Island is 11 by 19 kilometres (6.8 by 11.8 mi) long and 156 square kilometres (60 sq mi), slightly larger than Staten Island. 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 island was first sighted by [[Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen]] on 21 January 1821 and was named for Peter I of Russia. Not until 2 February 1929 did anyone set foot on the island, when the Second ''Norvegia'' Expedition, financed by [[Lars Christensen]], was successful. The expedition claimed the island for Norway, who annexed it in 1931 and made it a dependency in 1933. The next landing occurred in 1948 and the island has been subject to some scientific research and a limited amount of tourism. The island became subject to the [[Antarctic Treaty System|Antarctic Treaty]] in 1961. Since 1987, there has been an automated meteorological station on the island. Three amateur radio DX-peditions have visited the island and there are sporadic landings by tourists.

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 January 1910, the French expedition led by Jean-Baptiste Charcot and his ship ''Pourquoi-Pas'' confirmed Bellingshausen's discovery, but they also did not land, being stopped 5 kilometers from the island by pack ice.

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. Larsen attempted to land again in 1931, but was hindered by pack ice. 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. Since then, there have been several landings on the island by various nations for scientific investigations, as well as a limited number of ships that have successfully landed [[Tourism in Antarctica|tourists]] on the island.