[2] There are no scheduled passenger flights or ferries to or from the territory, although visits by cruise liners to South Georgia are increasingly popular, with several thousand visitors each summer.

Tim Flannery wrote that its "putrid vapors [resembled] the pong of bad fish, manure, and a tanning works mixed together", and noted one bizarre peril: "A rotting whale could fill with gas to bursting, ejecting a fetus the size of a motor vehicle with sufficient force to kill a man.

[10][11] In April 1916, Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition became stranded on Elephant Island, some 800 miles (1,300 km) southwest of South Georgia.

While three stayed at the coast, Shackleton and the two others, Tom Crean and Frank Worsley, went on to cover 22 miles (35 km) over the spine of the mountainous island to reach help at Stromness whaling station.

The Falklands War was precipitated on 19 March 1982 when a group of Argentinians (most of them Argentine Marines in mufti), posing as scrap-metal merchants, occupied the abandoned whaling station at Leith Harbour on South Georgia.

The King Edward Point base, which had become a small military garrison after the Falklands War, returned to civilian use in 2001 and is now operated by the British Antarctic Survey.

From 25 January 1955 to mid-1956, Argentina maintained the summer station, "Teniente Esquivel" (es) at Ferguson Bay on the southeastern coast of Thule Island.

Although the British discovered the presence of the Argentine base in 1976,[15] protested and tried to resolve the issue by diplomatic means, no effort was made to remove them by force until after the Falklands War.

[16] Although English is used in the majority of government functions, the islands' motto Leo Terram Propriam Protegat is in Latin and is translated as "May the Lion protect his own land".

[19] There is also a Lowland Scots language presence within the topography of the territory, with some locations being named after notable Scottish individuals, such as Geikie Glacier[20] and Allardyce Range,[21] amongst others.

[19] A number of placenames were influenced by the historical presence of Norwegian whalers,[19] including Hestesletten ("horse's plain"),[22] Skrap Skerries ("skrapskjaer" or "skrapskjar"),[23] Grytviken ("Pot Bay"),[24] and Elsehul ("Else's hole"),[25] as well as a few whaling stations such as Godthul ("good hollow").

[27][full citation needed] The small cove Maiviken, located in the Thatcher peninsula, was originally given the Swedish name Majviken meaning "May Bay" but was later altered into its current Norwegian spelling.

The fourth highest peak, Mount Michael (990 m or 3,248 ft) on Saunders Island has a persistent lava lake, known to occur at only eight volcanoes in the world.

The prevailing weather conditions generally make the islands difficult to approach by ship, though the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays which provide good anchorage.

The highest temperature recorded at the King Edward Point meteorological station (often generically and less accurately called Grytviken) on the sheltered eastern side of South Georgia is 28.8 °C (83.8 °F).

As one might expect, the sheltered eastern side can also record lower winter temperatures—the absolute minimum temperature for King Edward Point is −19.4 °C (−2.9 °F), but Bird Island just −11.4 °C (11.5 °F).

The constitution of the territory (adopted 3 October 1985), the manner in which its government is directed and the availability of judicial review were discussed in a series of litigations between 2001 and 2005 (see, in particular, Regina v. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Appellant) ex parte Quark Fishing Limited [2005] UKHL 57[41]).

Yachts visiting South Georgia are normally expected to report to the government officers at King Edward Point before moving round the island.

These four sets were removed during the Falklands War by a member of staff of the British Antarctic Survey in the few moments the Argentinians allowed them to gather their belongings.

Other grasses include the tufted fescue (Festuca contracta), the Alpine cat's-tail (Phleum alpinum) and Antarctic hair-grass (Deschampsia antarctica), and one of the most common flowering plants is the greater burnet (Acaena magellanica).

[51] It is considered important to control the spread of these exotic species as they readily enter this vulnerable, pristine ecosystem and outcompete populations of native flora for resources (e.g. light, nutrients) and negatively affect small, fragile habitats for the South Georgia fauna.

[51] The introduced plant species of South Georgia arrived primarily alongside human economic activities in the island and were mostly accidental, (before visitors had an understanding of their consequences).

Annual meadow grass (Poa annua) is believed to have arrived approximately 1800 with the first sealers, and is now widespread across the island, particularly old sealing and whaling sites.

Dandelions are believed to have been introduced alongside whaling operations, via the practice of including a handful of soil from the deceased whaler's home country.

Non-native species management will require several years of regular, dedicated follow-up treatments to ensure that all germinating seed currently in the soil is controlled prior to maturity before success will be achieved.

Rats, brought to the island as stowaways on sealing and whaling ships in the late 18th century,[55] have caused much damage to native wildlife, destroying tens of millions of ground-nesting birds' eggs and chicks.

[57][58][59] The project was led by zoologist Anthony Martin of The University of Dundee who stated, "This is a man-induced problem and it's about time that man put right earlier errors.

In 2017–18, an intensive six-month search by the South Georgia Heritage Trust, using sniffer dogs and baited traps, found no evidence of rodent presence.

HMS Endurance, the Royal Navy ice-patrol ship, operated in the South Georgia area during part of most southern summer seasons until her near loss due to flooding in 2008.

While the final decision on the fate of Endurance was pending, the Royal Navy chartered a Norwegian icebreaker, renamed HMS Protector, to act as replacement for three years.