South Georgia Island

South Georgia is an island in the far South Atlantic

South Georgia is an island in the far South Atlantic. It is approximately 170 kilometres long

The Island has fjords on its north shore, and a central mountainous spine. In the early 20th Century many of those fjords were home to whaling stations. The most important whaling station was at Grytviken. Which, at the height of the whaling period, operated a movie theatre and other amenities to the whaling crews. A museum is maintained at Grytviken, and it is visited by tourists on adventure cruises.

South Georgia had a very large population of penguins, seals and other marine mammals, and a very large population of sea birds. Rats, cats, reindeer, and other invasive species introduced by visitors had a devasting impact on the bird population. Before whalers harvested whales for the whale oil, fishermen targetted the vulnerable penguins, seals and other marine animals, which had to come to shore to breed. In recent decades some of the populations have bounced back, while others remain headed towards extinction.