Deception Island is actually the caldera of an active volcano, creating a sheltered harbour, 10 km long and 7 km wide. It belongs to the South Shetland Islands and is administered as part of the Antarctic Treaty.
There was a whaling station here until 1931, and in the summer, Argentina and Spain still maintain research stations. Below left is the Argentinian station and right are the remans of the whaling station.
About 15 000 toursts visit the island every year – even the President of Argentina visited in 1961 to strengthen the claims of Argentina in this region. There were three cruise ships in the caldera at the same time (title image and below).
The entrance to the caldera is narrow and called ’Neptune’s Bellows’. One of Hurtigruten’s ships was not careful enough, touched the rocks and caused an oil leak here in 2007.
The island was first sighted by British explorers and mapped by Americans in 1820. There were volcanic eruptions in 1967 an 1969 that led the island to be abandoned for years. It still resembles a lunar landscape.
Telefon Bay is in the Western part of the caldera and named after a Norwegian cargo steamship that was wrecked in sthe South Shetland islands, but later raised and repaired in this bay, before sinking 1913 off Denmark.
Whales also visit the caldera, but usually keep ther distance.
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