Snow Hill Island (Antarctica)

Snow Hill Island is an almost completely snowcapped, located off Antarctic Peninsula's eastern coast (Graham Land, mainland Antarctica). It is separated from James Ross Island (to the northeast) by Admiralty Sound. Snow Hill is among the several islands that are closer to mainland South America than any other part of Antarctica.

The island has length 33 km (21 mi) and width 12 km (8 mi). It was discovered in January 1843 by a British expedition led by James Clark Ross (1800-1862). He named it Snow Hill as its snow cover stood out in contrast to the nearby Seymour Island.

Part of the island's southwestern extremity (comprising 3 km2 / 1 mi2 of sea ice adjacent to coast) has been identified as IBA (Important Bird Area). The site supports a breeding colony of around 4,000 pairs of emperor penguins. This is one of only two such land colonies in the region of Antarctic Peninsula - the other being at Dion Islands.

In 2018 (October-November), Quark Expeditions scheduled four cruises to Antarctica visiting Snow Hill Island, with landings to its penguin colony. Cruise passengers were flown to the island on a helicopter, then walked across sea-ice to the colony. The 14-day roundtrip Ushuaia itinerary included 7 days (5 through 11) in Weddell Sea (Snow Hill Island) with the balance being seadays. These voyages were operated by the Russian icebreaking ship Kapitan Khlebnikov. Cruise fares started from USD 20,000 per person.