The Shag Rocks are 6 small islands in the westernmost extreme of South Georgia, 240 kilometers West of the main island of South Georgia and 1000 kilometers east of the Falkland Islands at 53°33' S, 42°02' W. 16 kilometers further Southeast is the Black Rock, at 53º39' S, 41º48' W. The islands belong to the British overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
The islands cover a total area of less than 20 hectares (200,000 m²) and have a peak elevation above sea level of 75 m.
The main wildlife found on the islands are the eponymous shags, prions and wandering albatrosses.
The Shag Rocks were discovered by Joseph de la Llana with the ship Aurora in 1762, and originally named Aurora Islands, after the ship. They were known to sealers prior to 1823. They were later rediscovered by James Sheffield and given their current name, probably because shags and other sea birds frequent them. They were charted by DI personnel on the William Scoresby in 1927. The first landing on the islands was made 1956 when an Argentinian geologist was lowered from a helicopter to collect rock samples.
