Deception Island

About Deception Island

• Deception Island is part of a line of islands called the South Shetland Islands, lying northwest of the Antarctic Peninsula.
• It is an active volcano.
• Formation: It was formed by a massive volcanic eruption, which caused the central part of the volcano to collapse and allowed seawater to flood the center, or caldera.
• It has a unique landscape of barren volcanic slopes, steaming beaches, and ash-layered glaciers that form a distinctive horseshoe-shaped opening to the seathrough a narrow channel at Neptune’s Bellows.
• The island surrounds Port Foster, one of the safest harbours in the Antarctic.
• It is one of the only places in the world where vessels can sail directly into the centre of a restless volcano.
• It’s one of two active volcanoes around Antarctica, and it has erupted more than twenty times since the 19th century.
• Three volcanic eruptions took place on the island between 1967 – 1970, destroying the Chilean and the British stations.
• At present, Argentina and Spain maintain summer scientific stations there.
•  It is now managed as part of the Antarctic treaty, making it a protected area with restricted human visits and impacts.

Q1: What is the Antarctic treaty?

The Antarctic Treaty is an international agreement that governs the use and management of Antarctica, the southernmost continent on Earth. The treaty was opened for signature on December 1, 1959, and entered into force on June 23, 1961.The primary purpose of the Antarctic Treaty is to ensure that Antarctica is used for peaceful and scientific purposes. It prohibits any military activity, mineral mining, and nuclear testing on the continent.