It lies 25 km (16 mi) north-west of Sturge Island and 8 km (5 mi) south-east of Young Island, some 110 km (68 mi) north-north-east of Belousov Point on the Antarctic mainland.

The island forms some parts of the Ross Dependency, claimed by New Zealand.

Several small islets lie off the island's southern extremity, Cape McNab, including Sabrina Islet and the 80-metre (262 ft) tall stack of The Monolith.

Both Buckle Island and Sabrina Islet are home to colonies of Adelie and chinstrap penguins.

This article about the geography of New Zealand's outlying islands is a stub.