Skua Island () is a roughly triangular island long, lying between Black Island to the southwest and Winter Island and Galindez Island to the north and northeast, in the

Argentine Islands The Argentine Islands are a group of islands in the Wilhelm Archipelago of Antarctica, situated southwest of Petermann Island, and northwest of Cape Tuxen on Kyiv Peninsula in Graham Land. They were discovered by the French Antarctic Exped ...

Wilhelm Archipelago The Wilhelm Archipelago is an island archipelago off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in Antarctica. Wilhelm Archipelago consists of numerous islands, the largest of which are Booth Island and Hovgaard Island (Antarctica), Hovgaard Is ...

Location

The

are off the

Graham Coast Graham Coast is the portion of the west coast of Graham Land in Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palm ...

of the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. ...

. They are south of the

French Passage French Passage () is a passage through the Wilhelm Archipelago, extending in a northwest–southeast direction between Petermann Island, the Stray Islands, the Vedel Islands and the Myriad Islands to the north and the Argentine Islands, the Anagra ...

, west of

Mount Shackleton Mount Shackleton () is a mountain, 1,465 m, with perpendicular cliffs facing west, standing east of Chaigneau Peak between Leay and Wiggins Glaciers on Kyiv Peninsula, the west side of Graham Land in Antarctica. It was discovered by the 1908� ...

on the mainland, north of the

Berthelot Islands The Berthelot Islands are a group of rocky islands, the largest long, lying south-west of Deliverance Point, off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. They were discovered by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1903–05, under Jean-Baptiste ...

and

Grandidier Channel Grandidier Channel () is a navigable channel between the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica, and the north end of the Biscoe Islands, extending from Penola Strait southwestward to the vicinity of Larrouy Island. It was first charted by the F ...

and east of the

Betbeder Islands The Betbeder Islands are a group of small islands and rocks in the southwest part of the Wilhelm Archipelago, west of Cape Tuxen. They were discovered by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1903–05, and named by Jean-Baptiste Charcot for Rear A ...

Sailing directions

The US Defense Mapping Agency's ''Sailing Directions for Antarctica'' (1976) describes Skua Island and its surroundings as follows:

Exploration and name

Skua Island was charted and named in 1935 by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under

John Rymill John Riddoch Rymill (13 March 1905 – 7 September 1968) was an Australian polar explorer, who had the rare second clasp added to his Polar Medal. Early life Rymill was born at Penola, South Australia, the second son of Robert Rymill (7 J ...

Features

Features and nearby features include:

Finger Point

. Point which forms the southwest end of Skua Island. Charted and named by the BGLE, 1934-37, under Rymill.

Shelter Islands

. Group of small islands lying west of Winter Island. Charted and named by the BGLE, 1934-37, under Rymill.

Winter Island

. Island long, lying north of Skua Island in the Argentine Islands, Wilhelm Archipelago. Winter Island was named by the BGLE, 1934-37, which made this island the site of its winter base during 1935.

Skua Creek

. Narrow channel between Skua Island and Winter Island. Charted and named Skua Inlet in 1935 by the BGLE under Rymill, but in recent years the name Skua Creek has overtaken the earlier name in usage.

Black Island Channel

. Channel wide between Black Island and Skua Island. Charted and named in 1935 by the BGLE under Rymill.

Runciman Rock

. Rock marked by breakers, lying east of Black Island at the southeast approach to Black Island Channel. Charted in 1935 by the BGLE under Rymill, who named it for Philip Runciman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Whites Southampton Yachtbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, where the ship Penola was refitted before sailing south in 1934.

Leopard Island

. Island long, lying west of the southwest end of Skua Island. Charted and named in 1935 by the BGLE under Rymill.

Black Island

. Island long, lying close southwest of Skua Island. Charted and named descriptively in 1935 by the BGLE under Rymill.

References

Sources

* * * {{refend Islands of the Wilhelm Archipelago