The strange crater is accessible by boat

The unique shape of Deception Island (“Deception” Island), Antarctica, is clearly shown when viewing satellite images. This is an active and semi-submerged crater, formed from one of the largest eruptions in the region’s history.

Deception Island is currently a haven for ships and researchers exploring around Antarctica. The island is horseshoe-shaped, about 14.5 km wide, located in the Southern Ocean, about 105 km from the coast of Antarctica. It belongs to the South Shetland Islands in the middle of the Drake Strait – a body of water known as the “iceberg graveyard” due to the large number of giant icebergs that disintegrate when passing through this strait after separating from the Antarctic ice sheets. .

Deception Island has this interesting name because if viewed from sea level, people often mistakenly think this is a solid land mass surrounded by steep cliffs. But when approaching, boats will find a 500 m wide gap in the rim of the crater. This opening is called Neptune’s Bellows, leading into the giant hidden lagoon hidden inside.

Explorers first discovered this secret entrance in 1820. Before that, many sailors may have passed by without knowing that inside was an ideal shelter to wait out the great storms of the Southern Ocean. . This refuge is called Foster Harbor.

Deception Island was formed after a large volcanic eruption about 4,000 years ago, releasing about 30 – 60 km3 of ash and magma, equivalent to 120 – 240 million Olympic swimming pools. Experts believe this is the largest eruption in Antarctica in at least 12,000 years, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory.

The island remains volcanically active and has had at least 20 small eruptions since the late 19th century. However, it has not erupted since 1970 and has been “quiet” since 2015, when seismic activity recorded on the island, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program. Additionally, there is only one other active volcano in Antarctica – Mount Erebus on Ross Island.

Currently, Port Foster has two long-term research stations operated by Argentina and Spain, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). A third Chilean station was destroyed in the 1970 eruption.

About 50,000 – 100,000 pairs of chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus) are living on the island with several other species of seals and seabirds, according to BBC. The island is also visited by thousands of tourists every year. They arrive by cruise ship and go ashore to enjoy the hot springs along the beaches of Port Foster.