Cape Whitson, is a headland on the south coast of Laurie Island, the easternmost and second largest of the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. It lies about 9 km south-east of Argentina’s Orcadas Base.
![](http://upload.luquay.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Manchot_01.jpg/220px-Manchot_01.jpg)
It is named after Sir Thomas Barnby Whitson, Lord Provost of Edinburgh at the time of its full mapping in the 1930s by the Edinburgh map-makers J.G.Bartholomew & Sons.[1]
Important Bird Area
editCape Whitson has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a large breeding colony of about 13,000 pairs of chinstrap penguins. The 54 ha IBA comprises the ice-free land of the cape, extending for 1.5 km between Aitken Cove and Methuen Cove. It has an elevation of less than 250 m.[2]
References
edit- ^ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ "Cape Whitson, Laurie Island". BirdLife data zone: Important Bird Areas. BirdLife International. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
60°45′S 44°32′W / 60.750°S 44.533°W