A bleak, ice-covered island off Antarctica famous as the refuge of Ernest Shackleton's crew after the loss of the Endurance in 1916.
Geography
Elephant Island lies at the northeastern end of the South Shetland chain, about 245 km north of the Antarctic Peninsula. The island is rugged, mostly glaciated, and named for the elephant seals once hunted on its shores.
Shackleton Expedition
In April 1916 the 22 men of the Endurance reached Point Wild after a brutal open-boat journey from drifting ice. Shackleton sailed onward to South Georgia for rescue while his crew survived four months under upturned lifeboats.
Wildlife
Chinstrap penguins, fur seals, and elephant seals breed along the island’s rocky coast. The interior, capped by Endurance Glacier, supports almost no terrestrial life.
Find more islands by letter
Elephant Island starts with E and ends with D. Browse other islands along the same letter.
Islands that contain a letter from "Elephant Island":