Pottinger Point is a low-lying, ice-free promontory east of
Round Point Round Point is a point west of False Round Point
False Round Point is a point west of North Foreland and south of Ridley Island, on the north coast of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. The point has appeared on ...
, about 500 m long, on the north coast of
King George Island in 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 195 ...
of
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 co ...
. It was named by the
United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee
The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) and ...
(UK-APC) in 1960 for Captain Pottinger, Master of the ''Tartar'' from London, who visited the South Shetland Islands in 1821–22.
Important Bird Area
The point has been identified as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
because it supports a
breeding colony of over 55,000 pairs of
chinstrap penguins, one of the largest in the South Shetlands.
References
Headlands of King George Island (South Shetland Islands)
Important Bird Areas of Antarctica
Penguin colonies
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