Green Island (Berthelot Islands) facts for kids
Green Island is a small piece of land in Antarctica. It's part of the Berthelot Islands group. You can find it off the west coast of Graham Land.
About Green Island
Green Island is quite small, about 20 hectares in size. To give you an idea, that's like 20 football fields! It sits 150 meters north of the biggest island in the Berthelot group. This is about 3 kilometers away from the Graham Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
The island is 520 meters long from north to south. It is also 500 meters wide from east to west. Green Island rises steeply on all sides. It has a rounded peak that is 83 meters high. The southern and eastern sides have very steep cliffs.
A Special Protected Area
Green Island is a very special place. It is protected as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No. 108. This means it's a place that scientists want to keep safe. They protect it because of its amazing plants. These plants are "probably the most luxuriant anywhere on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula." This means the plants grow very well there.
On the northern slopes, you can find thick banks of moss. These mosses are called Polytrichum strictum and Chorisodontium aciphyllum. They grow on top of peat that is more than a meter deep. Peat is like old, squashed plant material.
You can also see small patches of Antarctic hair grass. This grass grows on the steep, rocky northwest side of the island. Near here, there is a large colony of Antarctic shags. There are about 500 to 600 of these birds! It's one of the biggest shag colonies on the Antarctic Peninsula.
