Brash Island facts for kids
 Brash Island
Location in Antarctica
Location in Antarctica
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Antarctica |
| Coordinates | 63°24′S 54°55′W / 63.400°S 54.917°W |
| Archipelago | Joinville Island group |
| Administration | |
| Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
Brash Island is a small, lonely island in Antarctica. It's about 9 kilometers (5 nautical miles) northwest of Darwin Island. This island is part of the Joinville Island group.
Scientists from the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey explored Brash Island in 1953. The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee gave it its name. They called it "Brash" because of the "brash ice" often found nearby. Brash ice is like a slushy mix of small ice pieces floating in the water. These pieces are usually smaller than 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) across.
Why is Brash Island Special?
Brash Island is known as an Important Bird Area (IBA). This means it's a very important place for birds. BirdLife International gave it this special title. The island covers about 63 hectares (about 155 acres).
Home to Thousands of Penguins
This island is home to a huge number of penguins. In 2014, scientists used satellite pictures to count them. They estimated there were about 166,000 breeding pairs of penguins living here. Most of these are likely Adélie penguins or chinstrap penguins. These penguins belong to a group called "pygoscelid" penguins.
