It connects to the Stange Ice Shelf and is separated from Alexander Island by the Ronne Entrance.

[1] In 1939–1941 Smyley Island was first identified as a peninsula of mainland Antarctica by the United States Antarctic Service and was named Cape Smyley.

[1] The island is named after Captain William H. Smyley, the American master of the sealing vessel Ohio during 1841–42.

[1] A 497 ha site on fast ice near Scorseby Head, on the northern shore of the island, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of some 6,000 emperor penguins, based on 2009 satellite imagery.

[2] This article incorporates public domain material from "Smyley Island".