Difference between revisions of "Template:Westarctica.wiki:Today's featured article"

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[[File:Sabrina Island South.png|300px|left]]
[[File:Grand_Duke_Travis.jpg|200px|left]]
'''[[Sabrina Island]]''' is the largest of three small islets lying 1.5 km (0.93 mi) south of [[Buckle Island]] in the [[Balleny Islands]] off the coast of continental [[Antarctica]]. It was annexed, along with the rest of the Balleny Islands, by Westarctica in 2005. The island was discovered by [[whaling]] captain [[John Balleny]] in 1839. It was named for the ''Sabrina'', the cutter captained by Thomas Freeman during the expedition.
His Royal Highness, '''[[Grand Duke Travis]]''' is the founder and current [[Grand Duke of Westarctica|Head of State]] of [[Westarctica]], a [[Micronations|micronation]], new country project, and environmental non-profit corporation. The Grand Duke has been involved with various micronations, and has founded three of his own, starting in 1996 with the [[Kingdom of Casbah]], then [[Westarctica]] in 2001, and finally [[Colony of Calsahara|Calsahara]] in 2009. In between these projects, he served as a governor for two provinces of [[Republic of Molossia|Molossia]].


The island has outstanding environmental and scientific value as a representative sample of the Balleny Islands – the only oceanic archipelago located within the main Antarctic Coastal Current. It is a breeding site for [[chinstrap penguin|chinstrap]] and [[Adélie penguin]]s as well as [[Cape petrel]]s. A copper $2 WAD [[Coins of Westarctica|coin]] was minted in 2012 by the [[Central Bank of Westarctica]] and remains the only coin ever created by any country to celebrate the island. The coin has an image of the [[southern elephant seal]] instead of the island itself.  
In August 2001, while serving in the [[U.S. Navy]], Travis discovered a loophole in the [[Antarctic Treaty]] which legally allowed him to claim a huge swath of land on the [[Antarctica|Antarctic continent]] for himself. Travis solidified this claim on 2 November 2001 when he notified nine world governments of his claim and his intention to establish a sovereign nation in the [[Marie Byrd Land]] region of [[Antarctica]].


'''([[Sabrina Island|Full Article...]])'''
'''([[Grand Duke Travis|Full Article...]])'''