南奥克尼群岛由科罗内申岛、劳里两岛两个大岛和一些小岛组成，陆地总面积620平方公里。其中锡格尼岛常用作南极探险基地。1821年12月为英国人鲍威尔发现，并宣布为英国领有；1962年起成为英属南极领地的一部分；但阿根廷同英国有主权争执。

The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about 604 kilometres (375 mi) north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. They have a total area of about 620 square kilometres (240 sq mi). The islands are claimed both by Britain (as part of the British Antarctic Territory since 1962, previously as a Falkland Islands Dependency), and by Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica. Under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, sovereignty claims are held in abeyance.