Difference between revisions of "Balleny Islands"

[[File:Balleny Map1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Map of the Balleny Islands]]

The '''Balleny Islands''' (66°55′S 163°45′E) are a series of uninhabited islands in the [[Southern Ocean]] extending from 66°15' to 67°35'S and 162°30' to 165°00'E. The group extends for about 160 km (99 mi) in a northwest-southeast direction. The islands are heavily glaciated and of volcanic origin. [[Glaciers]] project from their slopes into the sea. The islands were formed by the so-called Balleny hotspot.

* southeast of Young Island: Row Island, Borradaile Island (with Swan Base shelter hut)

* south of Buckle Island: Scott Cone, [[Chinstrap Island]], [[Sabrina Island]] (with Sabrina Refuge shelter hut), and [[The Monolith]]

Although claimed by New Zealand, the Balleny Islands were annexed by [[Westarctica]] in 2005. The islands are one of two areas claimed by Westarctica that are not contiguous with its primary territory.

 

[[Borradaile Island]] is close to the [[Antarctic Circle]], in the eight kilometer channel between Young and Buckle Islands. [[Buckle Island]] and the nearby [[Sabrina Island]] are home to several colonies of [[Adélie penguin|Adelie]] and [[chinstrap penguin|chinstrap penguins]].

The English [[whaling]] captains John Balleny and Thomas Freeman first sighted the group during 1839: Freeman was the first person to land on any of the islands on 9 February 1839, and it was the first landing south of the Antarctic Circle. The islands' area totals 400 km2 (154 sq mi) and the highest point has been measured as 1,705 m (5,594 ft) or approximately 1500m (5000 feet) (the unclimbed Brown Peak on [[Sturge Island]]).

[[File:BALLENYISLANDSFLAG copy.jpg|thumb|right|Flag of the Balleny Islands, created by the Marquis of Williamson in 2005.]]

[[Marquis of Williamson|Jorge Fernandez Vidal]] learned about the Balleny Islands while researching unclaimed land in Antarctica. His intention was a find an area or region suitably outside the jurisdiction of other countries, that could be used as a basis for minting coins of his own design.

Jorge settled on the Balleny Islands in March 2004, after closely examining the language used in the [[Antarctic Treaty]] and realizing that New Zealand's claim to the Balleny Islands could not be legally recognized by any nation, including their own. Therefore, it was highly unlikely New Zealand would ever mint coins for the islands on their own, and they were equally unlikely to assert any kind of legal jurisdiction if Jorge were to mint coins under the name of the Balleny Islands. In his own words, the islands were: “officially unclaimed. A beautiful free land to mint a coin.”

The Balleny Islands became a colony when [[Westarctica]] formally annexed it from New Zealand on 14 January 2005. Mr. Vidal was appointed its Governor, and following the first successful minting of the Balleny Islands coin, Jorge was given the title Count of Sturge.