United KingdomSouth Georgia groupIsland
South Georgia
3,756 km² rising to 2,935 m out of the Atlantic Ocean.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
3,756km²
Area
711km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,935m
Highest point
Mount Paget
30
People
4°C
Warmest sea
February
1,530km
To the mainland
When to go to South Georgia
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in February (4 °C) and coolest in September (0 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in the South Atlantic
South Georgia is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to South Georgia group. It covers 3,756 km², with 711 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Paget, rises to 2,935 m. About 30 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,530 km away.
Getting there
- 1,530 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on South Georgia.
- 10beachesSorling Beach, Papua Beach, Olsen Beach and 7 more
- 2viewpointsKing penguin
- 1marinasHusvik Harbour
- 142named peaksMount Paget, Nordenskjöld Peak, Mount Carse and 139 more
- 41waterfalls
- 44ruins and archaeological sitesRussebrakka, Foremen's residence, Meat Freezers and 41 more
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
South Georgia in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside South Georgia, each with its own numbers.
43beaches and covesCoastya
2lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
0.29km²
Lyell Lake
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
8.8°C
Humic Lake
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
3.8°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
43 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Binder Beach3.7°C
- Paul Beach3.7°C
- Sudan Beach3.8°C
- Papua Beach3.8°C
- Bonner Beach3.7°C
- Balsam Beach3.8°C
- Elephant Covecove3.7°C
- Narval Baycove3.7°C
35 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
2 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lyell Lake0.29km²
- Humic Lake0.26km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 496 m above the sea. 28 % of it is below 200 m.
- 15 %0–50 m
- 14 %50–200 m
- 31 %200–500 m
- 28 %500–1,000 m
- 12 %1,000–2,000 m
- <1 %> 2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Grytviken2 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Night low (°C) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -1 | -2 | -3 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 0 | 1 |
| Sea (°C) | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Rain (mm) | 112 | 116 | 129 | 106 | 101 | 94 | 86 | 92 | 84 | 80 | 86 | 98 |
| Wet days | 24 | 22 | 25 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 4.1 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 4.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 29 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 34 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.5 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.6 | −0.7 | −0.6 | −1.5 |
| 2021 | −1.0 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.9 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.4 |
| 2023 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.5 | −0.6 |
| 2024 | −0.4 | −0.3 | −0.4 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.4 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.3 |
| 2025 | −0.4 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1137202) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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