Brabant Island is the second largest island of the Palmer Archipelago within the British Antarctic Territory, lying between Anvers Island and Liège Island. Brabant Island is 59 km (37 mi) long north-south, 30 km (19 mi) wide, and rises to 2,520 m (8,268 ft) in Mount Parry. The interior of the island is occupied by two mountain ranges, Solvay Mountains (Cook Summit, 1590 m) in its southern part and Stribog Mountains (summit Mount Parry) in its central and northern parts.

Brabant Island
Location of Brabant Island (in red)
Brabant Island is located in Antarctica
Brabant Island
Brabant Island
Location in Antarctica
Geography
LocationAntarctica
Coordinates64°15′S 62°20′W / 64.250°S 62.333°W / -64.250; -62.333
ArchipelagoPalmer Archipelago
Area1,770 km2 (680 sq mi)
Length59 km (36.7 mi)
Width30 km (19 mi)
Highest elevation2,520 m (8270 ft)
Highest pointMount Parry
Administration
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited

It was named by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897–1899) under Adrien de Gerlache, who named it after the Belgian Province of Brabant, in recognition of the support given to the expedition by its citizens.[1]

A paper summarizing the Joint Services expedition of 1984–1985 describes the island as "notoriously inhospitable" and states that there is evidence for only six visits between the discovery in 1898 and 1984.[2] Members of the expedition overwintered there in 1984–1985, and made the first ascent of Mount Parry.

Geology

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The Brabant Island Tectonic Block includes up to 2000 m of basaltic-andesitic lavas and volcaniclastics, possibly corresponding to the Lower Cretaceous Antarctic Peninsula Volcanic Group of the Danco Coast. This group is intruded by a granodiorite sill and Early Eocene hypabyssal dykes. Late Tertiary to Pleistocene basaltic lavas uncomformably overlay this complex.[3]

Maps

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See also

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Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ "Brabant Island". United States Gazetteer. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  2. ^ Furse, Chris (1987). "Joint Services Expedition to Brabant Island, Antarctica, 1984/85". The Geographical Journal. 153 (1): 1–10. doi:10.2307/634467. JSTOR 634467.
  3. ^ Birkenmajer, Krzysztof (1999). The Tectonic Structure of Gerlache Strait, West Antarctica, in Polish Polar Studies XXVI Polar Symposium (PDF). Lublin: Polish Polar Studies. pp. 45–50. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
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