Weddell Settlement is the only settlement on Weddell Island in the Falkland Islands, situated on the east coast of the island at the head of the sheltered Gull Harbour (formerly Great Harbour.), part of Queen Charlotte Bay. It is located at , which is northeast of Race Point, south by west of Swan Point, west-southwest of Stanley and west of Fox Bay on West Falkland.
Demographics
The settlement provides the logistic base for Weddell Island’s sheep farming and tourist industries. Sea transportation is serviced by a 50-meter pier. The island’s airfield is situated north of Weddell Settlement, and has two intersecting unpaved runways ( and long respectively) used by the Falkland Islands Government Air Service (FIGAS) Islander aircraft operating out of Stanley Airport. There are two unpaved earth roads on the island, both leaving Weddell Settlement. One of them, long, runs towards the airfield and further north to Loop Head Shanty and the headland ending up in Loop Head and Swan Point. The other one leads in westerly direction, skirting the head of Chatham Harbour and turning north at Kelp Creek House to reach Chatham House at the southwest corner of the bay.
The tourist and farming infrastructure at Weddell Settlement is currently being renovated; in particular, the Weddell Lodge is being extended to provide additional tourist and workers accommodation during the summer period.
Maps
The Falkland Islands. Scale 1:401280 map. London: Edward Stanford, 1901
Falkland Islands Explorer Map. Scale 1:365000. Ocean Explorer Maps, 2007
Falklands Topographic Map Series. Scale 1:50000, 29 sheets. DOS 453, 1961-1979
Falkland Islands. Scale 1:643000 Map. DOS 906. Edition 3-OS, 1998
Map 500k--xm20-4. 1:500000 map of Weddell Island and part of West Falkland. Russian Army Maps (for the world) Approaches to the Falkland Islands (Marine Chart : AR_2505_0). Scale 1:1500000 chart. Gps Nautical Charts, 2010 Illustrated Map of Weddell Island
Gallery
Notes
References
B. Stonehouse (ed.). Encyclopedia of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2002. 404 pp. C.H. Barnard. A Narrative of the Sufferings and Adventures of Capt. Charles H. Barnard, in a Recent Voyage Round the World, Including an Account of His Residence for Two Years on An Uninhabited Island. New York: J.P. Callender, 1836 P.P. King and R. Fitzroy. The South America Pilot. Part II. From the Rio de la Plata to the Bay of Panama, including Magellan Strait, the Falkland, and Galapagos Islands. Fifth Edition. London: Printed for the Hydrographic Office, Admiralty, 1860. pp. 116–118
External links
Weddell Settlement. Copernix satellite image
Weddell Island Official Website
Weddell Island from space. NASA Johnson Space Center, 30 April 2005
Zoomable world map. Features plans of Weddell Settlement and Weddell Island Airfield