Van Rocks

Location of Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands.

Topographic map of Smith Island.

Van Rocks (63°6′S 62°50′W / 63.100°S 62.833°W / -63.100; -62.833Coordinates: 63°6′S 62°50′W / 63.100°S 62.833°W / -63.100; -62.833) is a very conspicuous pinnacle rocks lying close west of Cape James, Smith Island, in the South Shetland Islands. They were roughly shown as a small island on a chart resulting from a British expedition under Foster, 1828–31, and then more accurately delineated by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1959 from air photos taken by the Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE), 1955-57. They were named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) because they mark the first or westernmost of the South Shetland Islands.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "Van Rocks" (content from the Geographic Names Information System).