Why Zavodovski Island
Zavodovski Island is an uninhabited volcanic landmass situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, forming the northernmost edge of the South Sandwich Islands within the Traversay Islands subgroup. Politically managed as part of the UK Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, this remote territory lies within a designated marine protected area. The island exhibits a diamond-shaped outline measuring approximately 3.8 by 4.0 kilometers, bounded by coastal cliffs reaching heights of 15 to 30 meters, as well as rock shelves and boulder-strewn beaches.
Slightly west of the island center rises Mount Curry, an active stratovolcano also designated as Mount Asphyxia, which reaches an elevation of over 550 meters. The landscape is dominated by basaltic lava flows, which form a gently undulating eastern plain that extends smoothly toward the water. Volcanic activity remains visible through active fissures and sulfur-emitting fumaroles that generate localized geothermal heat, keeping select patches of terrain free of snow. The surrounding ocean features floating icebergs, with pack ice arriving around August and September. Thermal emissions and vast bird colonies produce strong odours that inspired historical place names across the island, including Reek Point, Pungent Point, and Stench Point.
First documented in December 1819 by an expedition under Thaddeus von Bellingshausen, the island was named after a lieutenant on his vessel. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the location saw occasional visits from seal hunters, whalers, and polar scientific expeditions. While Zavodovski Island contains no human residents, it accommodates an automated weather station operated by South Africa. Eruptive activity has been documented across several centuries, including recorded events in 1830, 1970, and a notable ash eruption in 2016.
The island is most widely known for hosting the largest penguin breeding colony on Earth, dominated by hundreds of thousands of chinstrap penguin pairs, alongside populations of macaroni, gentoo, and visiting king penguins. Additional wildlife includes colonies of Antarctic fur seals along the shoreline, alongside seabirds such as petrels, fulmars, terns, and shags. Plant life is limited primarily to mosses, algae, and simple bryophytes. Although reachable only by sea, Zavodovski Island is among the most regularly approached destinations in the South Sandwich arc, with expedition cruises offering offshore viewing and occasional small-boat landings along the eastern lava plain.
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