Wilhelmina Bay
| Wilhelmina Bay | |
|---|---|
 Peak overlooking Wilhelmina Bay | |
  Wilhelmina Bay | |
| Coordinates | 64°38′S 62°10′W / 64.633°S 62.167°W |
Wilhelmina Bay (64°38′S 62°10′W / 64.633°S 62.167°W) is a bay 24 km (13 nmi; 15 mi) wide along the west coast of Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. It spans between the Reclus Peninsula to the northeast and Cape Anna to the southwest. It was discovered by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–99 led by Adrien de Gerlache. The bay is named for Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands, who reigned from 1890 to 1948.[1] Wilhelmina Bay is a popular destination for tourist ships to Antarctica thanks to its scenery and abundant humpback whale population.
Location[edit]
Wilhelmina Bay is on the Danco Coast on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. It indents the southeast side of Gerlache Strait opposite the Solvay Mountains of Brabant Island. The Arctowski Peninsula defines its southwest side, Forbidden Plateau its southeast side and -} [[Nansen Island is in the northeast of the bay. Wilhelmina Bay is between Charlotte Bay to the northeast and Andvord Bay to the southwest. [2]
Coastal features include, clockwise from the eastern entrance,
- The Reclus Peninsula, including Jacques Peaks, Bancroft Bay, Cañón Point, Zapato Point, and Café Point.
- Leonardo Glacier, Sadler Point, Blanchard Glacier, Garnerin Point and Pishtachev Peak,
- Piccard Cove, including Sophie Cliff, Balis Ridge, Rozier Glacier, Montgolfier Glacier, Bacho Kiro Peak, Mechit Buttress, Channel Glacier, Woodbury Glacier and O'Neal Point,
- The Arctowski Peninsula incuding Beaupré Cove, Jones Point (Antarctica), Hugershoff Cove and Cape Anna.
Coastal features[edit]
The southernmost part of the bay is a cove called Piccard Cove.[3] It is bordered to the east by Sophie Cliff, a granite cliff which is the terminus of Balis Ridge.[4][5] On the west side, O'Neal Point separates it from Beaupré Cove.[6] Beaupré Cove is 1.9 km (1 nmi; 1.2 mi) wide, bordered by O'Neal Point and Jones Point. Its head is fed by Nadjakov Glacier.[7][8] Hugershoff Cove lies at the southwestern end of Wilhelmina Bay, less than 1.9 km (1 nmi; 1.2 mi) south of Louise Island and Emma Island, and 3.7 km (2 nmi; 2.3 mi) northwest of Beaupré Cove.[9]
Islands[edit]
The bay is large enough to contain several islands. The largest of these is Nansen Island or Isla Nansen Sur.[10] Approximately 6.4 km (3.5 nmi; 4.0 mi) to the west is 2.8 km (1.5 nmi; 1.7 mi) long Emma Island, an icecap with bare jagged peaks projecting through.[11] Ice-covered Louise Island is approximately 1 km (0.54 nmi; 0.62 mi) long. It sits 1.6 km (0.86 nmi; 0.99 mi) west of Emma Island, and 1.6 km east of Cape Anna and Anna Cove on the southwest side of the entrance to Wilhelmina Bay.[12]
Nomenclature[edit]
Most features in the bay were charted by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–99 under Gerlache.[3][4] Gerlache provided names for many features, often after friends, supporters, and expedition members. [4] Nansen Island was named for noted Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen.[10] Emma Island was named for his mother, and Louise Island for his sister.[11][12]
Some features charted by Gerlache were left unnamed. The United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) named the following features in 1960. Piccard Cove was named for Swiss physicist Auguste Piccard.[3] Beaupré Cove was named for French hydrographer Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré.[7] Jones Point was named for engineer Bennett M. Jones.[8] Hugershoff Cove was named for German geodesist Carl R. Hugershoff.[9]
O'Neal Point was named for American cartographer James D. O'Neal, although GNIS does not specify which agency named it.[6][13]
Gallery[edit]
-
A kayaker watches whales in Wilhelmina Bay -
Kayakers in Wilhelmina Bay -
Expedition vessel Akademik Ioffe sailing into Wilhelmina Bay in January 2014 -
A tourist Zodiac has a close encounter with a humpback whale in Wilhelmina Bay
References[edit]
- ^ Alberts 1995.
- ^ Graham Land and South Shetland BAS.
- ^ a b c "Piccard Cove". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b c "Sophie Cliff". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "Balis Ridge". Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.
- ^ a b "O'Neal Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b "Beaupré Cove". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
- ^ a b "Jones Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
- ^ a b "Hugershoff Cove". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
- ^ a b "Nansen Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b "Emma Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Louise Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
- ^ Survey Order No. 220, Establishment of Special Maps Branch, dated December 5, 1952 in History of the Topographic Branch (Division) by Richard T. Evans and Helen M. Frye. Published Reston, Va. : U.S. Geological Survey, 2009. ISBN 978-1-4113-2612-5
Sources[edit]
- Alberts, Fred G., ed. (1995), Geographic Names of the Antarctic (PDF) (2 ed.), United States Board on Geographic Names, retrieved 2023-12-03
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Board on Geographic Names. - Graham Land and South Shetland Islands, BAS: British Antarctic Survey, 2005, retrieved 2024-05-03
