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Sea Lion Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Disambiguation: There is also a smaller "Sea Lion Island" in Choiseul Sound, Falkland Islands
Sea Lion Island (Spanish: Isla de los Leones Marinos) is one of the Falkland Islands, lying eight miles south east of Lafonia (East Falkland).
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There is a small settlement on the island and two airstrips. Historically, Sea Lion Island was a sheep farm and a base for slaughtering penguins to render for oil. When the British ship Viscount was wrecked in 1892, the debris was used to build the farmhouse.
Sheep farming is much declined, and in recent years, ecotourism has come to dominate. In 1990, the Clifton family who owned the island, sold it to the Falkland Island Development Company. They had planted 60,000 stands of tussac grass.[1]
There is also a memorial to HMS Sheffield on Bull Hill in the south of the island.
Sea Lion Island is a long narrow island, with cliffs on the "West End", and also a few ponds, such as Beaver, and Long Pond. Just to the south is Rum Island, a small seal colony. East Loafers is the name of the bay on the south shore.
Bull Hill is the highest point at around 150ft/46m.
The geology is mainly sandstone and mudstone, from about 250 million years ago. Some minor fossils have been found.
It is known for its wildlife, including southern sea lions, southern elephant seals, penguins, striated caracara and Antarctic skuas, and orcas (killer whales) offshore. Earthwatch, the worldwide organization that places volunteers in environmental studies around the world, has been tracking the habits of elephant seals at Sea Lion Island for years.
- ^ Wigglesworth, Angela. (1992) Falkland People. Pub. Peter Owen. ISBN 0-7206-0850-3
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