Scotia SeaUnited Kingdom and South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands
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South Sandwich Islands
The South Sandwich Islands are a chain of uninhabited volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. They are administered as part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

Chart
Overview
The South Sandwich Islands are a chain of uninhabited volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. They are administered as part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The chain lies in the sub-Antarctic region, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) southeast of South Georgia and 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The archipelago comprises 11 main islands forming an island arc running north–south, the largest being Montagu at 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi). It is divided into four groups, from north to south: The Traversay, Candlemas and Central Islands (Saunders, Montagu, and Bristol), and Southern Thule. The archipelago is prone to violent earthquakes. Over the previous century, nine M 7+ earthquakes have occurred here, the most recent being the M 8.1 in August 2021. None of these earthquakes are known to have caused fatalities due to their remote location in the Southern Ocean.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Census, cataloged
- Major islands6
- Minor islands15
- Islets44
- Rocks & skerries75
Major islands
Bristol Island
- Area
- 63.7 km²
- High point
- 1,098 m
Bristol Island is an uninhabited island in the South Sandwich Islands, an archipelago in the Southern Ocean. The island is almost entirely surrounded by ice cliffs and largely covered with ice. It features both the oldest rocks of this archipelago and an active volcano that last erupted in 2016.
Saunders Island
- Area
- 38.4 km²
- High point
- 843 m
Saunders Island is a crescent-shaped island lying between Candlemas Island and Montagu Island in the South Sandwich Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
Visokoi Island
- Area
- 28.9 km²
- High point
- 1,006 m
Visokoi Island is an uninhabited volcanic island and one the three Traversay Islands that constitute a subgroup of the South Sandwich Islands, in the Southern Ocean.
Montagu Island
- Area
- 105 km²
- High point
- 1,372 m
Montagu Island is the largest of the South Sandwich Islands, located in the Scotia Sea off the coast of Antarctica. Almost entirely ice-covered with only sparse rocky outcrops, Montagu consists of a large caldera with a large parasitic cone, Mount Oceanite.
Cook Island
- Area
- 20 km²
- High point
- 1,067 m
Cook Island is the central and largest island of the Southern Thule island group, part of the South Sandwich Islands in the far south Atlantic Ocean. Southern Thule was discovered by a British expedition under Captain James Cook in 1775.
Thule Island
- Area
- 16.7 km²
- High point
- 745 m
Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands, part of the grouping known as Southern Thule. It is named, on account of its remote location, after the mythical land of Thule, said by ancient geographers to lie at the extreme end of the Earth.
Minor islands

Zavodovski Island
- Area
- 10.3 km²
- High point
- 550 m

Candlemas Island
- Area
- 9.8 km²
- High point
- 550 m
Main Island
- Area
- 4.4 km²
- High point
- 551 m
Vindication Island
- Area
- 2.3 km²
- High point
- 427 m
Bellingshausen Island
- Area
- 1.6 km²
- High point
- 253 m
Albatross Island
- Area
- 1.1 km²
- High point
- 86 m
Trinity Island
- Area
- 0.76 km²
- High point
- 219 m
Leskov Island
- Area
- 0.47 km²
- High point
- 189 m
Unnamed island
- Area
- 0.23 km²
- High point
- 213 m
Unnamed island
- Area
- 0.23 km²
- High point
- 305 m
Invisible Island
- Area
- 0.21 km²
- High point
- 29 m
Unnamed island
- Area
- 0.16 km²
- High point
- 183 m
Hall Island
- Area
- 0.13 km²
- High point
- 72 m
Mollyhawk Island
- Area
- 0.12 km²
- High point
- 39 m
Crescent Island
- Area
- 0.11 km²
- High point
- 39 m
Islets
- Vaughan Island4 m · 0.07 km²
- Proud Island50 m · 0.07 km²
- Unnamed island13 m · 0.06 km²
- Unnamed island29 m · 0.05 km²
- Unnamed island3 m · 0.03 km²
- Unnamed island16 m · 0.03 km²
- Unnamed island0.02 km²
- Unnamed island7 m · 0.02 km²
- Unnamed island3 m · 0.01 km²
- Unnamed island9 m · 0.01 km²
- Unnamed island4 m · 0.01 km²
- Unnamed island6 m · 0.9 ha
Rocks & skerries
- Acorn Rock5 m · 0.04 km²
- Seaward Rock8 m · 0.02 km²
- Saw Rock0.01 km²
- Longlow Rock0.01 km²
- Cook Rock2 m · 0.01 km²
- Roca Perfil0.01 km²
- Pollux Rock0.7 ha
- Twitcher Rock17 m · 0.4 ha
- Coffin Rock0.4 ha
- Castor Rock0.3 ha
- Brothers rocks0.3 ha
- Buddha Rock0.3 ha
Figures
Comparative heights
- Montagu: 1,372 m
- Bristol: 1,098 m
- Cook: 1,067 m
- Visokoi: 1,006 m
- Saunders: 843 m
- Thule: 745 m
- Main: 551 m
- Zavodovski: 550 m
- Candlemas: 550 m
- Vindication: 427 m
- Bellingshausen: 253 m
- Trinity: 219 m
- Leskov: 189 m
- Albatross: 86 m
To the same scale
Islands by area
| Montagu Island | 105 km² |
| Bristol Island | 63.7 km² |
| Saunders Island | 38.4 km² |
| Visokoi Island | 28.9 km² |
| Cook Island | 20 km² |
| Thule Island | 16.7 km² |
| Zavodovski Island | 10.3 km² |
| Candlemas Island | 9.8 km² |
| Main Island | 4.4 km² |
| Vindication Island | 2.3 km² |
| Bellingshausen Island | 1.6 km² |
| Albatross Island | 1.1 km² |
| Trinity Island | 0.76 km² |
| Leskov Island | 0.47 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.23 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.23 km² |
| Invisible Island | 0.21 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.16 km² |
| Hall Island | 0.13 km² |
| Mollyhawk Island | 0.12 km² |
| Crescent Island | 0.11 km² |
| Vaughan Island | 0.07 km² |
| Proud Island | 0.07 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.06 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.05 km² |
| Acorn Rock | 0.04 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.03 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.03 km² |
| Seaward Rock | 0.02 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.02 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.02 km² |
| Saw Rock | 0.01 km² |
| Longlow Rock | 0.01 km² |
| Cook Rock | 0.01 km² |
| Roca Perfil | 0.01 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.01 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.01 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.01 km² |
| Unnamed island | 0.9 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.9 ha |
| Pollux Rock | 0.7 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.7 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.7 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.7 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.7 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.5 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.5 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.5 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.5 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.5 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.5 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.4 ha |
| Twitcher Rock | 0.4 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.4 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.4 ha |
| Coffin Rock | 0.4 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.3 ha |
| Castor Rock | 0.3 ha |
| Brothers rocks | 0.3 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.3 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.3 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.3 ha |
| Buddha Rock | 0.3 ha |
| Trousers Rock | 0.3 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.3 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.2 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.2 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.2 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.2 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.2 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.2 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.2 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.1 ha |
| Boot Rock | 0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | 0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Hogs Mouth Rocks | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
| Unnamed island | <0.1 ha |
Groups within
Overlapping groups
Photographs

Zavodovski Island (South Sandwich Islands) with the volcano Mount Curry, surrounded by icebergs.

Visokoi Island (South Sandwich Islands) with volcano Mount Hodson.

NASA Terra ASTER image of Bristol Island, South Sandwich Islands, in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. To the West, Grindle Rock, Wilson Rock and Freezland Rock.

Plume from Zavodovski volcano, South Sandwich Islands. Aqua/MODIS 04/27/201216:20 UTC Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA / Public domain


Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain


Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain

False color image of South Sandwich Islands 16 Feburary 2017. Image by MODIS on board Terra satellite.

Wave clouds form downwind of Saunders Island in this image acquired with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 on September 1, 2026.

Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain

Sources
Facts
Photographs
- Zavodovski Island ISS016. NASA / Public domain
- Visokoi Island ISS016. NASA / Public domain
- Bristol Island ASTER. NASA ASTER volcano archive jpl / Public domain
- Plume from Zavodovski volcano (7128666611). NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA / Public domain
- Mount Michael Volcano, Saunders Island, South Sandwich Islands, United Kingdom - March 13th, 2020 (49659488536). Pierre Markuse from Hamm, Germany / CC BY 2.0
- Ship-wave-shape wave clouds induced by South Sandwich Islands (MODIS 2016-11-21). Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain
- Waves in the Clouds around the South Sandwich Islands (MODIS 2025-03-19). MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain
- Eruption of Bristol Island volcano, South Sandwich Islands (MODIS 2016-06-19). Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain
- South Sandwich Islands 2017 02 16 (32816026361). Antti Lipponen / CC BY 2.0
- A Bright Spot at Mount Michael (1284270 - 2 20260901). NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison / Public domain
- Sea ice surrounding the South Sandwich Islands (MODIS 2016-09-02). Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain
- Released to Public Mount Belinda Erupts (NASA) (436666559). pingnews.com / Public domain