Arch Islands
Islotes Franceses
Island
Coordinates: 52°13′15″S 60°26′41″W / 52.22083°S 60.44472°W / -52.22083; -60.44472
CountryFalkland Islands
Named afterEnglish refers to natural arch; Spanish is "French Islets"
Time zoneUTC−3 (FKST)
If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively.

The Arch Islands (Spanish: Islotes Franceses[1]) are a group of small islands, off Port Albemarle on West Falkland in the Falkland Islands.[2] They are uninhabited, and accessible only by boat. They are so called because the largest of the group has a natural arch in it, large enough to allow a fair sized boat through.[3]

The islands are located at the south-western edge of Falkland Sound and include Arch Island East, Big Arch Island, Clump Island, Tussac Island, Pyramid Rock, Natural Arch Island, Sand Bay Island, Last Rock, and Albemarle Rock.[4][5][6][7]

The islands are owned by the British government, and are a part of a national nature reserve which was designated in 1978.[5][7] Between 1864 and 1866, the penguin colonies on the islands were decimated to provide penguin oil for trading through Stanley.[8] The islands are noted for their populations of breeding striated caracara,[9] and by 2008, the whole island group had been cleared on invasive rodent species.[10]

Other wildlife noted on the islands include Sea lions, and elephant seals, which in the past, were killed and transported by hunters.[11]

Several landforms across the island have been named after service personnel who were killed during the Falklands War. The landforms were previously un-named.[12]

Islands

The below listings shows each island with name, coordinates and size in hectares. Data is taken from Saeri.org.[13]

Island Coordinates Size
Albemarle Rock 52°13′00″S 60°23′11″W / 52.216731383°S 60.386340241°W / -52.216731383; -60.386340241 9 hectares (22 acres)
Big Arch Island 52°12′43″S 60°26′40″W / 52.211891946°S 60.444450039°W / -52.211891946; -60.444450039 217 hectares (540 acres)
Clump Island 52°13′38″S 60°30′20″W / 52.227088131°S 60.505456127°W / -52.227088131; -60.505456127 5 hectares (12 acres)
Natural Arch Island 52°13′45″S 60°29′01″W / 52.229240031°S 60.483697942°W / -52.229240031; -60.483697942 101 hectares (250 acres)
Pyramid Rock 52°13′51″S 60°30′20″W / 52.230696349°S 60.505482421°W / -52.230696349; -60.505482421 1-hectare (2.5-acre)
Sand Bay Island 52°12′32″S 60°28′12″W / 52.208966934°S 60.469906543°W / -52.208966934; -60.469906543 21 hectares (52 acres)
Tussac Island 52°12′41″S 60°30′16″W / 52.2114833°S 60.504364363°W / -52.2114833; -60.504364363 22 hectares (54 acres)

Smaller islands include Tussac Islet, Pyramid Rock Islet, Arch Island East, and Last Rock. Peat Island (4.9 hectares (12 acres)) is sometimes considered in the island group under the wider classification of the Arch Islands and Cape Lagoon, despite being only 400 metres (1,300 ft) offshore of West Falkland and some distance from the Arch Island group itself.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ "The toponymy of the Falkland Islands as recorded on maps and in gazetteers" (PDF). p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  2. ^ The South America pilot. Part I. East coast of South America: from Cape St. Roque to Cape Virgins, including Falkland, South Georgia, Sandwich, and South Shetland Islands. London: Darling & Son. 1893. p. 419. OCLC 37335706.
  3. ^ "Patagonia Missionaries: Events and observations at the Falkland Islands". patlibros.org. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  4. ^ "Maps of the Falkland Islands" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.fk. p. 5. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Application guide: Visits to Falkland Island Government Owned islands". May 2024. p. 12.
  6. ^ "UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies: 2011 Biodiversity snapshot" (PDF). data.jncc.gov.uk. p. 12. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Port Stephens, Port Edgar, South Harbour, Double Creek and Dyke Island" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.fk. p. 9. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  8. ^ Strange, Ian J. (1972). The Falkland Islands. Newton Abbot: David, Charles. p. 197. ISBN 0811719618.
  9. ^ Woods, Robin (April 1999). "What future for Johnny Rook?". The Warrah (15). Falklands Conservation: 3. ISSN 1357-9460.
  10. ^ "Cobb's wren translocation trialed". Falkland Islands newsletter (128). London: Falkland Islands Association: 23. April 2025. ISSN 0262-9399. OCLC 15924895.
  11. ^ "Falkland Islands Companies sealing purposes" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.fk. 1935. p. 126. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  12. ^ "Falkland Islands 40th Anniversary Place Names" (PDF). assembly.gov.fk. June 2024. pp. 4, 26, 27, 34, 36. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  13. ^ a b "Falkland Islands soil mapping". data.saeri.org. Retrieved 23 May 2026. Zoom in and click on each island, this will render a box with data relevant to each island
  14. ^ Poncet, Sally; Passfield, Ken (July 2011). "Island Visit Reports for 35 tussac islands surveyed between 2009 and 2011" (PDF). falklandsconservation.com. p. 81. Retrieved 23 May 2026.