It lies east of Wilhelm Island and northeast of Spitsbergen.

The island is a low basalt cliff that reaches an elevation of only 37 meters (121 ft) above sea level.

There is a large unnamed islet 115 meters (377 ft) south of the island.

[citation needed] The Bastian Islands were discovered in 1867 by the Swedish-Norwegian polar explorer Nils Fredrik Rønnbeck, who was the first to sail around Spitsbergen.

Most of the Bastian Islands were named during the First German North Polar Expedition in 1868, led by Carl Koldewey.