Islas Ildefonso are a group of islands in Chile. The islands belong to the Commune of Cabo de Hornos in Antártica Chilena Province of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region. They lie west of Isla Hermite, part of Tierra del Fuego, and NNW of Diego Ramirez Islands, but only south of Isla Hoste or to rocks near Isla Hoste.
Description
The islands were named by the Spanish navigator Diego Ramírez de Arellano, who piloted the Garcia de Nodal expedition through the region in 1619. The islands consist of nine stacks, within two groups. They extend on a northwest–southeast axis. The land area measures about . More than 50% of this comprises the large single southern stack, which is long and between wide. The islands are steep and rocky, and covered in tussac grass.Shirihai, Hadoram. (2002). A complete guide to Antarctic wildlife.
Important Bird Area
The islands have been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because they hold large breeding populations of both southern rockhopper penguins (86,000 breeding pairs) and black-browed albatrosses (47,000 breeding pairs). There are also smaller numbers of grey-headed albatrosses. Magellanic penguins, imperial shags and sooty shearwaters present.BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Islas Ildefonso. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-01-15.
Islands
Area data are from the USGS unless otherwise specified.
Island Area (ha) Grande 40.8 Norte 16.1 Hind 7.0 Square 2.5 Spirit 1.0 Cinclodes 0.9
See also
List of islands of Chile List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands List of Antarctic islands north of 60° S
References