Laurie Island is an island in the Antarctic Circle, the second largest of the South Orkney Islands. The island is claimed by both Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica, and the United Kingdom as part of the British Antarctic Territory. However, under the Antarctic Treaty System all sovereignty claims are frozen, as the island lies south of the parallel 60°. Buchanan Point at the north-eastern end of the island, with Cape Whitson on its south coast, are Important Bird Areas.
The first settlement, Omond House, was built by William S. Bruce during the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition in 1903, but later left to Argentina, and renamed as Orcadas Base. Currently, the only inhabitants live in Orcadas Base.
Coordinates: 60°43′43″S 44°31′05″W / 60.72861°S 44.51806°W / -60.72861; -44.51806
Famous quotes containing the word island:
“If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from others lands, but a continent that joins to them.”
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626)