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| CATEGORIES ABOUT PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDS | |
| sub-antarctic islands | |
| shield volcanoes | |
| ridge volcanoes | |
| volcanoes of south africa | |
| volcanoes of the southern ocean | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub- Antarctic Indian Ocean that are politically part of South Africa . As a group of two islands, the Prince Edwards Islands are located at . The two islands are named '''Marion Island''' () and '''Prince Edward Island''' (). GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY Marion Island, the larger of the two islands, is located at . It is roughly 19 Km long and 12 km wide with a surface of 290 Km² and a coastline of some 72 km, most of which are high cliffs. The highest point on Marion Island is State President Swart Peak, reaching 1230 M above sea level. Prince Edward Island is much smaller (only about 45 km²) and lies some 12 Nm (19 km) to the northeast. Prince Edward Island is located at . The island group is about 955 nm (1770 km) south-east of Port Elizabeth in mainland South Africa . Both islands are of Volcanic origin. Marion Island is one of the peaks of a large underwater Shield Volcano that rises some 5000 m from the sea floor to the top of State President Swart Peak. The volcano was thought to be extinct, but broke out again in 1980 and is since classed as "active". HISTORY The islands were discovered by accident in , the fourth son of King George III and to the bigger gave the name of Marion du Fresne. The first recorded landing dates to 1803 and was made by a group of Seal hunters, who did, however, find signs of earlier inhabitation, probably other sealers. James Clark Ross also visited the islands in 1840 , but was unable to land, too. Finally, the island were surveyed by Captain George Nares in 1873 . The British Government granted in 1908 one William Newton the rights to exploit Guano deposits for the next 21 years, and a 10-year-grant for seal exploitation to a sealing company in 1926 . In late 1947 and early 1948 , South Africa annexed the islands and installed a Meteorological station on Marion Island. The research station was soon enlarged and today researches the Biology of the islands, in particular the birds ( Penguins , Petrel s, Albatrosses , Gull s) and seals. In . The remaining cats were killed by night-time hunting, and in 1991 , only eight cats could be trapped in a 12-month period. It is believed that there are no cats left on Marion Island today. On September 22, 1979, one of the U.S. Vela spy satellites recorded an activity near the Prince Edward Islands, which was initially interpreted like the "double flash" of a small nuclear test. The event is still controversial and is known as Vela Incident . LEGAL STATUS Marion Island and Prince Edward Island were claimed for South Africa by a South African Navy force from the HMSAS Transvaal on 29 December 1947 and 4 January 1948 respectively. On 1 October 1948 the annexation was made official when Governor-General Gideon Brand Van Zyl signed the ''Prince Edward Islands Act 43 of 1948''. Because the United Kingdom relinquished its claims on the islands to South Africa, no other nation has made a claim on the islands, and they have been occupied continuously since 1948 by South Africa, the status of the islands is not in dispute. In terms of the Act, the islands fall under the jurisdiction of the Cape Town Magistrate's Court , and South African law as applied in the Western Cape applies on them. The islands are also deemed to be situated within the electoral district containing Cape Town Harbour ; As Of 2006 this is Ward 55 of the City Of Cape Town . SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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