Mount Kent
| Mount Kent | |
|---|---|
 Stone run at Mount Kent | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 458 m (1,501 ft)[1] |
| Coordinates | 51°40′25″S 58°06′47″W / 51.6735°S 58.1130°W |
| Geography | |
  Mount Kent | |
Mount Kent is a hill on East Falkland, Falkland Islands,[2] and its peak is 458 metres (1,501 ft) above sea level.[3] It is located north of Mount Challenger some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of Stanley.[4]
History
[edit]
The hill saw action during the Falklands War during the Assault on Mount Kent, part of the larger Battle of Mount Harriet.[5] It was from his command post on Mount Kent that Major-General Jeremy Moore famously radioed "Falkland Islands once more under Government desired by their inhabitants. God Save the Queen."[6] Some parts of the hill still had landmines left over from the Falklands War, but all of the Falkland Islands were de-mined by 2020.[7][8]
The hill's top is occupied by the RRH Mount Kent (Remote Radar Head Mount Kent) of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI),[9] part of an early warning and airspace control network including also RRH Mount Alice and RRH Byron Heights on West Falkland.[10] The accommodation and working areas of the base were completely rebuilt between 2016 and 2025, having previously been made up of containers which had been there since 1984.[11][12] The remains of two Argentine helicopters still lie on the northern flank of Mount Kent.[7][13]
The slopes of Mount Kent are also recognised for the presence of stone runs.[14] The stones are quartzite blocks which belong to the Silurian-Devonian (West Falkland Group).[15]
The hill is named after the County of Kent in England, where Charles Darwin was living at the time that he set sail on the HMS Beagle expedition, which reached the Falklands in 1863.[16] The Hispanicized version of the name is Cerro Kent.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "Topographic map of Mount Kent". OpenTopoMap. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ Strange, Ian J. (1983). The Falkland Islands (3 ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 23. ISBN 0715385313.
- ^ "Mount Kent". peakery.com. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ Burch, R; Marshall, P (1990). "A Survey of the Vertical Component of the Seismic Noise on the Falkland Islands" (PDF). www.blacknest.gov.uk. p. 8. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ Hastings, Max; Jenkins, Simon (1984). The battle for the Falklands. New York: Norton. pp. 300–309. ISBN 0393301982.
- ^ "Briatain announces Argentine surrender to end the 10-week war in the Falklands". The New York Times. 15 June 1982. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ a b Wagstaff, William (2001). Falkland Islands: the Bradt travel guide. Chalfont St Peter: Bradt. p. 94. ISBN 1841620378.
- ^ "Falklands finally landmine free thanks to UK-funded team". GOV.UK. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ Post Conflict and RAF Stanley. Think Defence Website, 2017
- ^ "BFSAI commander visits Radar Units in Falklands Mount Kent, Mount Alice and Byron Heights". MercoPress. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ "DIO completes major improvement project in the Falkland Islands". GOV.UK. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ "VolkerFitzpatrick Completes Major Infrastructure Project in the Falkland Islands". www.volkerfitzpatrick.co.uk. 23 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ "Falklands Battlefields Tour: Mount Kent Chinook Wreckage". www.neonbubble.com. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ Harriott, Sadie; Evans, David J. A. (3 April 2022). "Periglacial landforms of Dartmoor: an automated mapping approach to characterizing cold climate geomorphology". Scottish Geographical Journal. 138 (1–2): 47. doi:10.1080/14702541.2022.2093394.
- ^ Stone, Phil. "The Geology of the Falkland Islands" (PDF). nora.nerc.ac.uk. British Geological Survey. p. 9. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ Brown, Ann (November 1998). "British Explorers". The Warrah (14). Falklands Conservation: 11. ISSN 1357-9460.
- ^ "Base de datos de nombres geograficos de Las Islas Malvinas" (PDF). www.hidro.gov.ar (in Spanish). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
