Pebble Island

Pebble Island is a long farm island off the north coast of West Falkland, named for the polished agate stones found on its beaches. Elephant Bay has one of the longest sand beaches in the islands, and ponds behind it draw black-necked swans, grebes and ducks. Rockhopper penguins nest on the western cliffs, with gentoo colonies on the grass above the shore. In 1982 British special forces raided the airstrip here and destroyed eleven Argentine aircraft, and wreckage and a memorial remain. A lodge in the settlement takes guests who fly in on the island plane for a few nights.