Cooper Island

For the island in the British Virgin Islands, see Cooper Island (British Virgin Islands).

For the islet in the US Minor Outlying Islands, see Palmyra Atoll.

Cooper Island

Southeast extremity of South Georgia with Cooper Island
Cooper Island can be seen on Cook's 1777 South-Up map
Geography
Coordinates	54°48′S 35°47′W / 54.800°S 35.783°W / -54.800; -35.783Coordinates: 54°48′S 35°47′W / 54.800°S 35.783°W / -54.800; -35.783
Archipelago	South Georgia
Length	2 mi (3 km)
Highest elevation	1,365 ft (416.1 m)
Administration
United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	0

Cooper Island is a small island, 2 miles (3.2 km) long, which lies at the north side of the entrance to Drygalski Fjord, off the southeast end of South Georgia. It was discovered by a British expedition under James Cook in 1775, and named for Lieutenant Robert Palliser Cooper, an officer aboard HMS Resolution.

A navigable channel, Cooper Sound, nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, separates Cooper Island from the coast of the main island of South Georgia. There is a small bay, Cooper Bay, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) southwest of Cape Vahsel on the mainland, and 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Cooper Island, indenting the southeast end of South Georgia, which derives its name from Cooper Island.

The island reaches 416 metres (1,365 ft) at its highest point, and the upper parts of the island are above the snow line.

Cooper Island

Wildlife

As one of a handful of rat-free islands, Cooper Island is South Georgia's only Special Protection Area, it has large numbers of sea birds including snow petrels, Antarctic prions, 12,000 pairs of black-browed albatross, chinstrap penguins and 20,000 macaroni penguins. There are also a number of fur seals and this is one of the few places where they were not hunted by humans.

The island is covered in tussock grass.

See also

• Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
• History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• List of Antarctic islands north of 60° S
• Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "Cooper Island" (content from the Geographic Names Information System).

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Capital: King Edward Point (Grytviken)
General	Coat of arms Commissioner Flag Foreign relations History Languages List of South Georgians Operation "Paraquet" South Georgia Museum .gs Sovereignty Invasion of South Georgia
Settlements / Whaling stations	Grytviken Godthul Husvik Leith Harbour Ocean Harbour Prince Olav Harbour Rosita Harbour Stromness Corbeta Uruguay base
South Georgia islands	Annenkov Island Bird Island Black Rock Black Rocks Clerke Rocks Cooper Island Grass Island Grassholm Kupriyanov Islands Pickersgill Islands Prion Island Saddle Island Shag Rocks South Georgia Trinity Island Welcome Islands Willis Islands
South Sandwich islands	Bellingshausen Bristol Candlemas Cook Leskov Montagu Saunders Thule Vindication Visokoi Zavodovski Traversay Islands
Landmarks	Admiralty Peak Allardyce Range Fortuna Glacier Gold Harbour Larsen Harbour Mount Baume Mount Belinda Mount Cunningham Mount Paget Mount Roots Peggotty Bluff Salisbury Plain Salvesen Range Southern Thule Thatcher Peninsula Grace Glacier Lucas Glacier Bay of Isles Point Abrahamsen Sheep Point Stromness Bay Cumberland Bay Possession Bay Sheer Point Busen Point