- Weddell Island
Infobox Falkland island
MapCaption=
latitude= -51.8786
longitude= -61.0067
coordinates= coord|51|52|43|S|61|00|24|W|display=inline,title
island group=
english name=Weddell Island
former name=Swan Island
spanish name=Isla San José
meaning of name=Spanish: St Joseph's Island
area=
area rank=3
highest elevation=
Population=
population rank=
main settlement=Weddell Settlement
references=Weddell Island (Spanish: "Isla San José") is the third largest of the
Falkland Islands , with an area of 98 square miles (254 km²), offWest Falkland . Until the late nineteenth century, it was known as Swan Island, a name which is not to be confused with the Swan Islands on the other side ofWest Falkland .History and population
Its current designation comes from the name of
James Weddell , an English navigator and explorer who visited the Falklands in the early 1800s. He was well known for his voyages to theAntarctic , and both theWeddell Sea andWeddell Seal are named after him also.The small population of the island lives in
Weddell Settlement on the east coast, the remainder of the island being run as asheep farm .Wildlife
Like many of the Falkland Islands, Weddell Island is known for its wildlife, including
penguin s,sealion s anddolphin s. Exotic wildlife, includingskunk s, rheas,parrot s andguanaco s were introduced in the 1930s, along withPatagonian fox es (not to be confused with the extinctwarrah ), which can still be found.External links
* [http://www.oceandots.com/atlantic/falklands/weddell.htm Weddell Island from space]
* [http://www.sealionisland.com/index.php/uk/26/weddell-island Weddell Island]Template group
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