South Shetland Islands

South Shetland Islands, archipelago, South Atlantic Ocean, south-east of Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America, and off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Among the larger islands are Deception, Elephant, and King George, and the total land area of the group is about 4,660 sq km (1,800 sq mi). The islands, mountainous, snow-covered, and uninhabited, were sighted in 1819 by the British mariner William Smith and were subsequently claimed by Great Britain. In 1916 members of the Trans-Atlantic expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton sheltered for several weeks on Elephant Island while a small party rowed about 1,400 km (870 mi) to South Georgia for help. In 1962 the archipelago was made a part of the British Antarctic Territory, but the claim has been disputed by Chile and Argentina.