West Falkland shown within Falkland Islands

West Falkland, known as Gran Malvina in Spanish, is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, with an area of approximately 4,532 square kilometres. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound.

The island has a population of less than 200 people, scattered around the coastline. The largest settlement is Port Howard on the east coast, which has an airstrip. Other settlements include Albemarle , Chartres , Fox Bay , Fox Bay West , Hill Cove , Port Stephens , and Roy Cove , most of which are linked by road and also have airstrips and harbours.

West Falkland saw little action during the Falklands War in 1982. These days is also home to two RAF Reporting Posts: Mount Alice which is near Port Albermarle in the south of the island and Mount Byron in the north. These military units are openly listed in RAF Today .

The major industry on the island is sheep farming, while it is also known for its penguin and cormorant colonies. Fishing is also popular in the two main rivers, the Warrah and the Chartres .

The southern most point of West Falkland is Cape Meredith . On the southerly side lie high clifs with an abundance of seabirds and to the west are some white sandy beaches with beautiful clean water and rolling sand dunes with tall grass. Just set back from the top of the clifs is a single wooden hut locally referred to as Uncle Tom's Cabin. The beaches are a favorite haunt for elephant seals and are unpoluted save for the occasional piece of wreckage and the odd washed up tree-trunk.

External links

RAF Today