Peter I Island ( no, Peter I Øy) is an uninhabited

volcanic island Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

in the

Bellingshausen Sea The Bellingshausen Sea is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula between 57°18'W and 102°20'W, west of Alexander Island, east of Cape Flying Fish on Thurston Island, and south of Peter I Island (there the southern ''Vostokkyst ...

, from continental

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. It is

claimed "Claimed" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series '' The Walking Dead'', which aired on AMC on February 23, 2014. The episode was written by Nichole Beattie and Seth Hoffman, and directed ...

as a dependency of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

and, along with Bouvet Island and Queen Maud Land, composes one of the three Norwegian dependent territories in the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and othe ...

and Subantarctic. The island measures approximately , with an area of ; its highest point is the

ultra-prominent An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500. The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or ...

, Lars Christensen Peak. Nearly all the island is covered by a

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

, and it is surrounded most of the year by

pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "faste ...

, making it inaccessible during these times. There is little

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with ...

animal life on the island, apart from some seabirds and

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

. The island was first sighted by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen on 21 January 1821 and was named for Peter I of Russia. Not until 2 February 1929 did anyone set foot on the island, when Nils Larsen and Ola Olstad's Second ''Norvegia'' Expedition, financed by

Lars Christensen Lars Christensen (6 April 1884 – 10 December 1965) was a Norwegian shipowner and whaling magnate. He was also a philanthropist with a keen interest in the exploration of Antarctica. Career Lars Christensen was born at Sandar in Vestfold, Nor ...

, was successful. They claimed it for Norway, which annexed it in 1931 and made it a dependency in 1933. The next landing occurred in 1948, and the island has been subject to some scientific research and a limited amount of tourism. The island became subject to the Antarctic Treaty in 1961. Since 1987, there has been an automated meteorological station on the island. Three amateur radio DX-peditions have visited the island, and there are sporadic landings by tourists.

History

The first sighting of Peter I Island was made on 21 October 1821 by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen's expedition,Rubin (2005): 180 who commanded the ships ''Vostok'' and ''Mirny'' under the Russian flag. He named the island for Tsar

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...

of Russia. Drift ice made it impossible for Bellinghausen to come nearer than from the island. It was the first land to have been spotted south of the

Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. So ...

, and was thus also the southernmost sighted land at the time of its discovery.Barr (1987): 67 In January 1910, the French expedition led by

Jean-Baptiste Charcot Jean-Baptiste-Étienne-Auguste Charcot (15 July 1867 – 16 September 1936), born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, was a French scientist, medical doctor and polar scientist. His father was the neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893). Life Jean-Bap ...

and his ship '' Pourquoi-Pas'' confirmed Bellingshausen's discovery, but they also did not land, being stopped from the island by pack ice. Peter I Island 1929A

In 1926 and 1927, the Norwegian sailor Eyvind Tofte

circumnavigated Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the ...

and surveyed the island from ''Odd I''. However, he was also prevented from landing. The Norwegian whale-ship owner

financed several expeditions to the Antarctic, in part for research and in part to claim land for Norway. The latter was motivated by the British taxation of

whaling stations Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized indust ...

in the Antarctic, and Christensen hoped to be able to establish stations on Norwegian territory to gain better privileges and so at least the taxes went to his home country.Kyvik ''et al.'' (2008): 52 The first expedition to land on the island was the Christensen-financed second ''Norvegia'' expedition, led by Nils Larsen and Ola Olstad. They landed on 2 February 1929 and claimed the island for Norway. Larsen attempted to land again in 1931, but was hindered by pack ice. On 6 March 1931, a Norwegian royal proclamation declared the island under Norwegian

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

and on 23 March 1933 the island was declared a dependency. The next landing occurred on 10 February 1948 by Larsen's ship ''Brategg''.

Biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

, geological and hydrographic surveys underwent for three days, before the pack ice forced the expedition to leave. The expedition built a hut and placed a copy of the document of occupation from 1929 inside. On 23 June 1961, Peter I Island became subject to the Antarctic Treaty, after Norway's signing of the treaty in 1959. Since then, there have been several landings on the island by various nations for scientific investigations, as well as a limited number of ships that have successfully landed tourists on the island. In 1987, the Norwegian Polar Institute sent five scientists to spend eleven days on the island. The main focuses were aerial photography and topographical measurements to allow an accurate map of the island to be produced. The second important area was marine biological investigations, although also geological, biological and other surveys were conducted. The team also built an automatic weather station. Three DX-peditions have been sent to the island, in 1987, 1994 and 2006.

Geography

Peter I Island is a

located off the coast of Ellsworth Land of continental Antarctica, and about to the south-west of Smith Island, the nearest of the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

. It has an area of . The island is almost entirely covered by

, with about 95% of the surface covered by ice.Barr (1987): 65 Surrounding the island is a tall ice front and vertical cliffs. The long stretches of ice caps are supplemented with rock outcrops. Landing is only possible at three points, and only during the short period of the year in which the island is not surrounded by pack ice. These landings take place on the west side at Kapp Ingrid Christensen, a peninsula which divides the bays Norvegiabukta and Sandefjordbukta. On the cape are some narrow strips of beach, which are suitable for landing. The beach in Norvegiabukta is just wide and is entered via the natural arch Tsarporten. On the west side is a plateau, while the north and south coasts feature ice shelves. The eastern side is the steepest and features two rock columns with flat tops in the sea. The island is a shield volcano, although it is not known if it is still active, and it has been categorized as either

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

or historic, based on date samples ranging from years ago. The summit, Lars Christensen Peak, is a wide circular crater. An ultra-prominent peak at elevation, it is named after Lars Christensen. It is not known whether this volcano is extinct or not, because the upper part is apparently unmodified by glaciation, indicating an eruption several centuries ago.

Environment

The island's vegetation consists exclusively of mosses and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Antarctic climate. The island has a very harsh climate with strong winds and freezing temperatures. The steady snowfall keeps vegetation to a minimum. The island is a breeding ground for a few

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envir ...

s, particularly

southern fulmar The southern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialoides'') is a seabird of the Southern Hemisphere. Along with the northern fulmar, ''F. glacialis'', it belongs to the fulmar genus ''Fulmarus'' in the family Procellariidae, the true petrels. It is also kno ...

s, but also Wilson's storm petrels and Antarctic terns.

Penguin Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...

s, including Adélie and chinstrap penguins, visit the island infrequently. There are numerous

, particularly crabeater seals, leopard seals and smaller numbers of southern elephant seals.

Politics

Peter I Island is one of Norway's two territorial claims in Antarctica, the other being Queen Maud Land. Peter I Island is the only claim within 90°W and 150°W and is also the only claim which is not a

sector Sector may refer to: Places * Sector, West Virginia, U.S. Geometry * Circular sector, the portion of a disc enclosed by two radii and a circular arc * Hyperbolic sector, a region enclosed by two radii and a hyperbolic arc * Spherical sector, a po ...

. Being south of 60°S, the island is subject to the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty ensures free access to the island for any scientific investigation, and states that it can be used only for peaceful purposes. Norway, Australia, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have all mutually recognized each other's claims in Antarctica. Norwegian administration of the island is handled by the Polar Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, located in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. The annexation of the island is regulated by the Dependency Act of 24 March 1933. It establishes that Norwegian

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law ...

private law Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the '' jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ...

and procedural law applies to the island, in addition to other laws that explicitly state they are valid on the island. It further establishes that all land belongs to the state, and prohibits the storage and detonation of nuclear products. Since 5 May 1995, Norwegian law has required all Norwegian activity in Antarctica, including Peter I Island, to follow international environmental law for Antarctica. All Norwegian citizens who plan activities on Peter I Island must therefore report to the Norwegian Polar Institute, who may deny any non-conforming activity. All people visiting the island must follow laws regarding protection of nature, treatment of waste, pollution and insurance for search and rescue operations. The island is also the capital of the unrecognized micronation of

Westarctica Westarctica (officially the Grand Duchy of Westarctica, formerly the Protectorate of Westarctica) is an unrecognized micronation in Antarctica, founded in 2001 by Travis McHenry, who styles himself as Grand Duke Travis. It claims a region of West ...

References

Bibliography