Saunders Island, South Sandwich Islands

Saunders Island

Location of Saunders Island
Geography
Coordinates	57°48′S 26°29′W / 57.80°S 26.49°W / -57.80; -26.49[1]
Archipelago	South Sandwich Islands
Highest elevation	990 m (3250 ft)
Highest point	Mount Michael
Administration
United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Saunders Island is a crescent-shaped island lying between Candlemas Island and Montagu Island in the South Sandwich Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

The 8.5 by 5 kilometres (5.3 mi × 3.1 mi) long Saunders is a volcanic island composed of an active stratovolcano, 990-metre (3,248 ft) Mount Michael, and a cluster of pyroclastic cones on the southeastern side. Mount Michael has a lava lake in its summit crater, which is fumarolically active, and there is widespread evidence of recent eruptions across the island.

The island is used as a breeding ground by many bird species, including penguins, but is barren of vegetation apart from lichens and some moss-covered patches. Most of the island is covered in ice.