South Georgia Island in the context of "Scotia Arc"

The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about 604 km (375 mi) north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and 844 km (524 mi) south-west of South Georgia Island. They have a total area of about 620 km (240 sq mi). The islands are claimed both by Britain (as part of the British Antarctic Territory since 1962, previously as a Falkland Islands Dependency) and by Argentina (as part of Argentine Antarctica). Under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, sovereignty claims are held in abeyance.

Britain and Argentina both maintain bases on the islands. The Argentine base, Orcadas, established in 1904, is sited on Laurie Island. The 11 buildings of the Argentine station house up to 45 people during the summer, and an average of 14 during winter. The British Antarctic Survey base, Signy Research Station, is located on Signy Island and was established in 1947. Initially operated year-round, since 1995–1996 the Signy Research Station has been open only from November to April each year.

Gough Island (/ɡɒf/ GOF), also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares, is a rugged volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a dependency of Tristan da Cunha and part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It is approximately 400 km (250 mi) south-east of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago (which includes Nightingale Island and Inaccessible Island), 2,400 km (1,500 mi) north-east from South Georgia Island, 2,700 km (1,700 mi) west from Cape Town, and over 3,200 km (2,000 mi) from the nearest point of South America.

Gough Island is uninhabited, except for the personnel of a weather station (usually six people) that the South African National Antarctic Programme has maintained, with British permission, continually on the island since 1956. It is one of the most remote places with a constant human presence. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of "Gough and Inaccessible Islands" and one of the most important seabird colonies in the world.

Iceberg B 15 was the largest recorded iceberg by area. It measured around 295 by 37 kilometres (159 by 20 nautical miles), with a surface area of 11,000 square kilometres (3,200 square nautical miles), about the size of the island of Jamaica. Calved from the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica in March 2000, Iceberg B-15 broke up into smaller icebergs, the largest of which was named Iceberg B-15-A. In 2003, B-15A drifted away from Ross Island into the Ross Sea and headed north, eventually breaking up into several smaller icebergs in October 2005. In 2018, a large piece of the original iceberg was steadily moving northward, located between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island. As of August 2023, the U.S. National Ice Center (USNIC) still lists one extant piece of B-15 that meets the minimum threshold for tracking (70 km or 20 sq nmi). This iceberg, B-15AB, measures 20 km × 7 km (11 nmi × 4 nmi); it is currently grounded off the coast of Antarctica in the western sector of the Amery region.

Leith Harbour (54°08′28″S 36°41′17″W / 54.141°S 36.688°W / -54.141; -36.688), also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest of seven whaling stations, situated near the mouth of Stromness Bay.

It is named after Leith, the harbour area of Edinburgh, Christian Salvesen's home town.

George Powell (1794–1824) was an English sealer, explorer and amateur naturalist. He captained three sealing expeditions to the Antarctic Ocean between 1818 and 1822.

Powell was born in London. During his first expedition, in 1818 and 1819, he captained the sloop Dove and visited South Georgia and Kerguelen Islands. His second expedition, captaining Eliza, lasted from 1819 until 1821, during which time he visited the Falkland Islands and the South Shetland Islands.

King Edward Point (also known as KEP) is a permanent British Antarctic Survey research station on South Georgia island and is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is situated in Cumberland East Bay on the northeastern coast of the island. The settlement is the second smallest capital in the world by population, after Ngerulmud in Palau.

Olstad Glacier (68°50′S 90°41′W / 68.833°S 90.683°W / -68.833; -90.683) is a heavily crevassed glacier descending to the west coast of Peter I Island about 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) south of Tofte Glacier. Peter I Island was circumnavigated by the Norwegian whale catcher Odd I in January 1927 and was explored from the Norvegia in February 1929.

The glacier is named for Ola Olstad, Norwegian zoologist who, transported by various whaling ships, conducted research in South Georgia, South Shetland Islands and Palmer Archipelago in 1927–28. Olstad partook in the first expedition to land on Peter I Island, the second Norvegia expedition, in February 1929.

Sir James Key Caird, 1st Baronet (7 January 1837 – 9 March 1916) was a Scottish jute baron and mathematician. He was one of Dundee's most successful entrepreneurs, who used the latest technology in his Ashton and Craigie Mills.

Caird was noted for his interest in providing financial aid for scientific research. He was one of the sponsors of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Antarctic expedition of 1914 to 1916. The ship's boat, the James Caird, in which six of Shackleton's expedition made an epic voyage of 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) from Elephant Island to South Georgia, was named in appreciation of Caird's contribution.