South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands: Geography#
Location | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America |
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Geographic Coordinates | 54 30 S, 37 00 W -54.5,-37.0 |
Land boundaries | 0 km |
Coastline | NA |
Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m |
Highest Mountains | |
Terrain | most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes |
Natural Hazards | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism |
Natural Resource | fish |
Land Use | arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (2011) |
Climate | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow |
Irrigated Land | 0 sq km (2011) |
Renewable Water Resources | NA |
Environment_CurrentIssues | NA |
Environment - international agreements | NA |
Large Cities | |
Geography-note | the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 20th century, live on South Georgia |