As HMS Endurance continues her deployment, she has now reached the Falkland Islands in the southern most reaches of the south Atlantic Ocean. HMS Endurance is in Mare Harbour, which is on East Falkland near Mount Pleasant. You may have heard of these islands before, because of the war that took place in 1982, but do you know anything else about them?
The Falkland Islands are situated 480km to the east of the continent of South America and are surrounded by the South Atlantic Ocean. As its name suggests, the country of the Falklands Islands is made up of many islands. These are divided into West Falkland and surrounding islands and East Falkland and surrounding islands. The two groups are separated by a stretch of water called the Falkland Sound. The total area covered by the Islands is 12,170 sq. km., this is approximately three times the size of the Isle of Wight, or half the size of Wales in the UK.
The Falkland Islands
