Joseph de la Llana discovered the Shag Rocks in 1792, and originally named them the Aurora Islands. James Sheffield found the Shag Rocks while searching for the Auroras. The first landing was only made in 1956, when an Argentine geologist was lowered by a helicopter to spend a few hours collecting samples. The Shag Rocks are the smallest of the sub-Antarctic islands, and consist of six islands all together. The islands are part of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands territory. Reaching a peak elevation of only 71m, the Shag Rocks are 240km west of South Georgia, and cover only 20 hectares. The main wildlife found on the islands are the eponymous shags, prions and wandering albatrosses.