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Archipelago

    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.

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

    NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison / Public domain

    Terrain

    57°48′S 26°29′W

    Terrain exaggerated for relief. Drag to look around.

    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

    Also in South Sandwich Islands

    Sources

    Facts

    • Geometry, areas and high points: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Copernicus GLO-30, via Talus.
    • Talus
    • Wikidata
    • Wikipedia

    Photographs