Zavodovski is the northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands and consists of one major stratovolcano, Mount Curry, which is surrounded to the east by a plain formed by lava flows.

Mount Curry has a fumarolically active crater on the southwestern side, which also bears traces of a sector collapse.

[6] Icebergs occur in the surrounding waters,[7] and sea ice reaches Zavodovski in August and September.

[17] Except on the western side, where marine erosion has eroded away parts of the island, lava flows surround most of Mount Curry.

[1] On the eastern side of the island, they form a gently undulating plain that is easily traversable[18] and accessible from the sea, by humans and penguins alike.

[20] On the western side, cliffs show traces of a sector collapse, which extended below sea level[21] and left a 4 cubic kilometres (0.96 cu mi) deposit on the seafloor.

[22] A 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) wide submarine shelf surrounds Zavodovski at a depth of 70–160 metres (230–520 ft) on all sides except the western, where it has been removed by the sector collapse.

[26] Basalt is the dominant rock produced by volcanic activity[31][21] and defines a potassium-poor tholeiitic suite.

[39] 600,000–1,000,000 chinstrap penguins breed on Zavodovski,[40] making up about one quarter of the global population of this species[41] and possibly one of the largest bird colonies in the world.

Alternating sequences of lava flows and tephra built the island up during the last few tens of thousands of years, and were more recently buried by ash fallout.

[33] The eastern submarine ridge is covered by sediment and appears to be older, indicating that volcanism has moved westward over time.

[49] If glaciers developed on Zavodovski during the last glacial maximum, the steep submarine slopes would have restricted their expansion.

[9] In March 2016, an eruption produced a volcanic cloud and fallout of ash and lava bombs, covering parts of the island and leading the government of South Georgia to issue a navigation warning.

[54] Reported inconsistencies of the height of Mount Curry may indicate volcanic activity that changed the summit elevation of the volcano.

[15] Undamaged penguin bodies buried by volcanic ash have been found,[55] and activity may have obliterated breeding seabird colonies.

[56] Fumarolic activity occurs in the southwestern crater and extends to the cliffs on the sea, south of Acrid Point.

[26] Zavodovski is probably the most frequently visited of the South Sandwich Islands,[33] with cruise ships approaching to view the penguin colonies[62] and tourist boats landing.

[26] Argentina installed the Guardiamarina Lamas beacon on Zavodovski;[64] presently, an unmanned weather station on the island is operated by South Africa.