Mount Longdon is a hill located in the east of

East Falkland East Falkland () is the largest island of the Falkland Islands, Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as L ...

island forming part of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

Archipelago. It has an elevation of 186 metres (610 ft) above sea level. It is the highest land in any direction for 2 kilometres (1.2 miles). It is known as the site of the

Battle of Mount Longdon The Battle of Mount Longdon was fought between the British 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and elements of the Argentine 7th Infantry Regiment on 11–12 June 1982, towards the end of the Falklands War. It was one of three engagements in a B ...

, and overlooks

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, the capital of the Falkland Islands.

Geography

Mount Longdon forms part of a hilly area in the East of the East Falkland Island.

Geology

Mount Longdon and the surrounding area primarily consists of sedimentary rocks with formations of sandstones, quartzites, and shales, which date back to the Paleozoic era.

Climate

The Climate for Mount Longdon is extremely similar to Stanley and

RAF Mount Pleasant RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...

due to its proximity. Mount Longdon has a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...

in the polar, tundra zones,

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

classification ''ET''. The climate is very much influenced by the cool

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

ocean and its northerly Patagonian current. The oceanic climatic type is characterised by both low

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

al and diurnal temperature ranges and no marked wet and dry season while in the sub-arctic zone the average monthly maximum temperature exceeds for no more than four months of the year and the average monthly minimum does not drop below . Mount Longdon's elevation, maritime location and topography frequently lead to cool conditions.

History

The Battle of Mount Longdon was fought between the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment The 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (3 PARA), is a battalion sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and is a subordinate unit within 16 Air Assault Brigade. Roled as an Airborne light infantry unit, the battalion is capable ...

and elements of the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

7th Infantry Regiment on 11–12 June 1982, towards the end of the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. It was one of three engagements in a

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

-size operation that night, along with the Battle of Mount Harriet and the Battle of Two Sisters. A mixture of hand-to-hand fighting and ranged combat resulted in the British occupying this key position around the Argentine garrison at Port Stanley. The battle ended in a British victory.

Summit

At the summit of the hill now lies a memorial which today attracts some tourism to the area.

External links

British Overseas Directorate 1961 Maps: Falkland Islands 1:50, 000 Topographic Map Sheet 15OpenStreetMapGeonames , National Geospace Intelligence Agency , "Mount Longdon"
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Footnotes

References

;Notes {{Falkland Islands topics Longdon