Cape Whitson

Cape Whitson, is a headland on the south coast of Laurie Island, the easternmost and second largest of the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. It lies about 9 km south-east of Argentina’s Orcadas Base.
It is named after Sir Thomas Barnby Whitson, Lord [Provost of Edinburgh] at the time of its full mapping in the 1930s by the Edinburgh map-makers J.G.Bartholomew & Sons.

Important Bird Area

Cape Whitson has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports a large breeding colony of about 13,000 pairs of chinstrap penguins. The 54 ha IBA comprises the ice-free land of the cape, extending for 1.5 km between Aitken Cove and Methuen Cove. It has an elevation of less than 250 m.