South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) is a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands known as the South Sandwich Islands. South Georgia is long and wide and is by far the largest island in the territory. The South Sandwich Islands lie about southeast of South Georgia. The territory's total land area is . The Falkland Islands are about west from its nearest point. The South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited, and a very small non-permanent population resides on South Georgia. There are no scheduled passenger flights or ferries to or from the territory, although visits by cruise liners to South Georgia are increasingly popular, with several thousand visitors each summer. The United Kingdom claimed sovereignty over South Georgia in 1775 and the South Sandwich Islands in 1908. The territory of "South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands" was formed in 1985; previously, it had been governed as part of the Falkland Islands Dependencies. Argentina claimed South Georgia in 1927 and claimed the South Sandwich Islands in 1938. Argentina maintained a naval station, Corbeta Uruguay, on Thule Island in the South Sandwich Islands from 1976 until 1982 when it was closed by the Royal Navy. The Argentine claim over South Georgia contributed to the 1982 Falklands War, during which Argentine forces briefly occupied the island. Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands as part of the Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province. Toothfish are vital to the islands' economy; as a result, Toothfish Day is celebrated on 4 September as a bank holiday in the territory. History South Georgia 17th to 19th centuries The island of South Georgia was first sighted in 1675 by Anthony de la Roché, a London merchant and (despite his French name) an Englishman. The island appeared as Roche Island on early maps. The commercial Spanish ship León, operating out of Saint-Malo sighted it on 28 June or 29 June 1756. James Cook circumnavigated the island in 1775 and made the first landing. He claimed the territory for the Kingdom of Great Britain, naming it the "Isle of Georgia" in honour of King George III of the United Kingdom. British arrangements for the government of South Georgia were established under 1843 British letters patent. In