Island group, southern Atlantic Ocean.
Located southeast of South America, the South Orkneys are composed of two large islands (Coronation and Laurie) and many smaller islands; they form part of the British Antarctic Territory. Barren and uninhabited, the islands have a total area of 240 sq mi (620 sq km). They were part of the Falkland Islands Dependencies until 1962. Signy Island is used as a base for Antarctic exploration.