COAST

The Falklands, made up of East and West and 776 smaller islands, have a coastline estimated at 800 miles (1,300 km). The coast varies from deeply indented sheltered harbours or low-lying gently sloping beaches to long sandy white beaches. On West Falklands dramatic cliffs rise vertically to 213m (700ft) on its west, northwest and southwest aspects. The south west has stacks and bluffs. Much of the lower lands of southern East Falklands have rocky, gently sloping beaches. There are creeks and estuaries on both East and West Falklands, and all around the Falklands there are rocky headlands with low cliffs and boulder beaches. The coasts of the Falklands are surrounded by 'kelp', marine algae ranging from offshore giant kelp Macrocystitis pyrifera and tree kelp Lessonia flavicans in deep waters up to 30m. Falklands born people are often referred to as ‘kelpers’.

Almost 200 ships are known to have came to grief in the wild seas around the Falklands coast. A visitor to the islands during the 1890's wrote: 'the coast was dotted with the ribs of lost vessels'. Early navigators knew that kelp was an unerring symbol of rocks under water. Lives have been lost because it is almost impossible to swim through a kelp bed to get to shore after a boat has overturned.

Go to Coastal Flora

Sea Mammals that might be seen from Falklands' coasts and beaches- click on an icon: BLUE WHALE Balaenoptera musculus KILLER WHALE Orinicus orca SEI WHALE Balaenoptera borealis Strap-toothed Whale Mesoplodon layardii SOUTHERN MINKE WHALE Balaenoptera bonerenis LONG-FINNED PILOT WHALE Globicephala melas FIN WHALE Balenoptera physalus SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN Lissodelphis peronii HUMPBACK WHALE Megaptera novaeangliae COMMERSON'S DOLPHIN Cephalorhynchus commersonii SPERM WHALE Physeter macrocephalus HOURGLASS DOLPHIN Lagenorhynchus cruciger SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE- Eubalaena australis PEALE'S DOLPHIN Lagenorhynchus australis Seals that might be seen on Falklands' coasts and beaches- click on an icon: ELEPHANT SEAL Mirounga leonina SOUTH AMERICAN FUR SEAL Arctocephalus australis SOUTH AMERICAN SEA LION Otaria flavescens ANTARCTIC FUR SEAL Arctocephalus gazella LEOPARD SEAL Hydrurga leptonyx     Birds that might be seen on Falklands' coasts and beaches- click on an icon: Kelp Goose Chloephaga hybrida Falklands Flightless Steamer Duck Tachyeres brachydactyla Patagonian Crested Duck Lophonetta s.specularioides Blackish Oystercatcher Haematopus ater White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis Magellanic Oystercatcher Haematopus leucopodus South American TernSterna hirundinacea     White-tufted Grebe Rollandia rolland Snowy Sheathbill Chionis alba Kelp or Dominican Gull Larus dominicanus Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax cyanocephalus Dolphin Gull Larus scoresbii Cobb's Wren (Southern House Wren) Troglodytes aëdon cobbi Black-throated Finch- Melanodera melanodera Tussac Bird Cinclodes antarcticus antarcticus Invertebrates that might be seen on Falklands' coasts and beaches: Marine Invertebrates Camel Cricket Parudenus falklandicus Falklands coasts are always surrounded by kelp Giant and Basket Kelp Macrocystis pyrifera Sea Lettuce Ulva sp Durvillaea

Photographic credits: Robert Maddocks, Sam Dodd Photographs and Images Copyright: The images on this site have been bought under licence or have been used with the permission of their owners. They may not be copied or downloaded in any form without their owner's consent.