Location:
Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America

Geographic coordinates:
54 30 S, 37 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 3,903 sq km
land: 3,903 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of 11 islands

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Rhode Island

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
NA

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate:
variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow

Terrain:
most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m

Natural resources:
fish

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (2005)

Irrigated land:
0 sq km

Natural hazards:
the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 20th century, live on South Georgia