geo.wikisort.org - Island

Rothschild Island is a black rugged island 39 kilometres (24 mi) long, mainly ice covered but surmounted by prominent peaks of Desko Mountains in Antarctica, 8 kilometres (5 mi) west of the north part of Alexander Island in the north entrance to Wilkins Sound.

Rothschild Island

Rothschild Island Location in Antarctica
Geography
Location	Antarctica
Coordinates	69°36′S 72°33′W
Length	39 km (24.2 mi)
Administration
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

History

The island was sighted from a distance by the French Antarctic Expedition (c1908-1910), and named by Charcot in honour of Baron Edouard de Rothschild (1868-1949), head of the Rothschild banking family of France and president of de Rothschild Frères.

In the subsequent explorations of the area by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) (c1934-1937) the feature was believed to be a mountain connected to Alexander Island. Geologically this might be true—but it has not been proven by any means due to a lack of anything like a complete geological survey of the region.

However Rothschild Island's insularity was reaffirmed by the United States Antarctic Service (USAS, c1939-1941) who photographed and roughly mapped the island from the air.

Modern exploration

Rothschild Island was mapped in detail from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE c1947-1948) and by Searle of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1960, and from US governmental satellite imagery taken in 1974.

Threats and preservation

Although this very remote part of the world has never been inhabited and is protected by the Antarctic Treaty System, which bans industrial development, waste disposal and nuclear testing, there is still a threat to these fragile ecosystems from increasing tourism, primarily on cruises across the Southern Ocean from the port of Ushuaia, Argentina.

See also

• Larsen Ice Shelf
• Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
• List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
• List of Antarctic islands south of 60° S
• SCAR
• Territorial claims in Antarctica
• List of Antarctic ice shelves
• Wilkins Sound

Further reading

• Defense Mapping Agency 1992, Sailing Directions (planning Guide) and (enroute) for Antarctica, P 379

External links

• Rothschild Island on USGS website
• Rothschild Island on SCAR website

References

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

На других языках

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[de] Rothschild-Insel

Die Rothschild-Insel (engl. Rothschild Island) ist eine weitgehend mit Eis bedeckte Insel in der Antarktis. Sie liegt etwa 75 km östlich der Charcot-Insel und 10 km westlich des Nordteils der Alexander-Insel, von der sie durch die Lasarew-Bucht getrennt ist.[1] Die länglich geformte Insel ist etwa 39 km lang[2] und besitzt eine Fläche von etwa 700 km².[1] Sie wird von Westnordwest nach Ostsüdost von den Desko Mountains durchzogen, die im Enigma Peak 1000 Meter Höhe erreichen.[3][4] Die West- und Nordküste der Rothschild-Insel wird von einem 30 m hohen Eiskliff gebildet, im Osten gibt es felsige Landzungen und durch Küstenerosion gebildete Felseninseln[1] wie die Glinka-Inseln.

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- [en] Rothschild Island

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[es] Isla Rothschild

La isla Rothschild es una isla de la Antártida situada a 5 millas al oeste de la costa norte de la isla Alejandro I en la entrada norte del estrecho de Wilkins.

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[fr] Île Rothschild

L'île Rothschild est une île de l'Antarctique longue de 39 km, principalement recouverte de glace mais dominée par les sommets proéminents des monts Desko. Elle se situe 8 km à l'ouest de l'île Alexandre-Ier à l'entrée nord du Wilkins Sound aussi appelée barrière de glace de Wilkins car une grande partie est constamment prise dans les glaces.

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