Nelson Island (South Shetland Islands)

Nelson Island is an uninhabited island in the South Shetland Islands archipelago off the Antarctic Peninsula. It is one of the many low-lying islands in the group used as reference points for Antarctic navigation and occasional landings.

The island is visited mainly by scientific personnel and by expedition cruise operators offering Zodiac landings and wildlife viewing in the region. There are no permanent settlements or visitor facilities on the island.

Nelson Island was charted during the era of early Antarctic sealing and exploration in the 19th century and remains part of the geographically dispersed islands that make up the South Shetlands. Its environment is polar, with seasonal pack ice and typical Antarctic flora and fauna.

Geographically it lies in the northern sector of the Antarctic region’s island groups, within the South Shetland Islands chain off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

• Visitor note: Uninhabited and frequently visited only by scientific teams or expedition cruise landings; visitors should expect basic, weather-exposed shoreline landings.