Saunders Island
Enez Saunders, Isla Saunders
57°48′S 26°29′W
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.

Terrain
57°48′S 26°29′W
Overview
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. The 8.5 by 5 kilometres (5.3 mi × 3.1 mi) long Saunders is a volcanic island composed of an active stratovolcano, 990-metre (3,248 ft) Mount Michael, and a cluster of pyroclastic cones on the southeastern side. Mount Michael has a lava lake in its summit crater, which is fumarolically active, and there is widespread evidence of recent eruptions across the island. The island is used as a breeding ground by many bird species, including penguins, but is barren of vegetation apart from lichens and some moss-covered patches. Most of the island is covered in ice.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Chart
Nearest islands
- Montagu Island73 km
- Candlemas Island79 km
- Visokoi Island129 km
- Bristol Island136 km
- Zavodovski Island179 km
- Cook Island187 km
Also in South Sandwich Islands
Montagu Island
105 km²▲ 1,372 m
Major islands

Bristol Island
63.7 km²▲ 1,098 m
Major islands

Visokoi Island
28.9 km²▲ 1,006 m
Major islands
Cook Island
20 km²▲ 1,067 m
Major islands
Thule Island
16.7 km²▲ 745 m
Major islands

Zavodovski Island
10.3 km²▲ 550 m
Minor islands

Candlemas Island
9.8 km²▲ 550 m
Minor islands
Main Island
4.4 km²▲ 551 m
Minor islands
Photographs

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

Mount Michael on Saunders Island, seen in this image acquired with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 on August 24, 2026, hosts a frequently active lava lake in its summit crater.
Sources
Facts
Photographs
- A Bright Spot at Mount Michael (1284270 - 2 20260901 lrg). NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison / Public domain
- A Bright Spot at Mount Michael (1284270 - 20260824 lrg). NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison / Public domain