West Falkland

West Falkland, or Gran Malvina, is separated from East Falkland by the broad strait known as Falkland Sound. Its coasts are deeply indented, and low hills, grassland and peat lie inland. In 1690 John Strong sailed through the sound between the two principal islands. A British expedition claimed the archipelago in 1765 and established Port Egmont on Saunders Island off the northwestern coast; the British withdrew from that settlement in 1774.