The history of Antarctica emerges from early Western theories of a vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far south of the globe. The term Antarctic, referring to the opposite of the Arctic Circle, was coined by Marinus of Tyre in the 2nd century AD.
Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee and the US Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names, in which the name "Antarctic Peninsula" was approved for the major peninsula of Antarctica, and the names Graham Land and Palmer Land for the northern and southern portions, respectively. The line dividing them is roughly 69 degrees south.
The Wordie Ice Shelf was a confluent glacier projecting as an ice shelf into the SE part of Marguerite Bay between Cape Berteaux and Mount Edgell, along the western coast of Antarctic Peninsula.
Neny Island or is an island 2.8 km (1.5 nmi) long which rises to 675 m (2,215 ft), lying 1.9 km (1 nmi) northwest of Roman Four Promontory and directly north of the mouth of Neny Fjord, off the west coast of Graham Land in Antarctica. Neny Island was discovered by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) (1934–1937) under John Riddoch Rymill and named after nearby Neny Fjord.
The Debenham Islands are a group of islands and rocks lying between Millerand Island and the west coast of Graham Land. The Debenham Islands were discovered and named by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) (1934–37) under John Riddoch Rymill; the BGLE base was on Barry Island, in the center of the group, during part of this time. They were named for Frank Debenham, who served as a member of the BGLE Advisory Committee.
Martin Glacier is a glacier, 3 nautical miles (6 km) wide and 9 nautical miles (17 km) long, which flows west and then northwest from the south side of Mount Lupa to the southeast corner of Rymill Bay where it joins Bertrand Ice Piedmont, on the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was first surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under John Riddoch Rymill, and was resurveyed in 1948–1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. The glacier was named for James Hamilton Martin, a member of the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (1929–1931) under Sir Douglas Mawson, and first mate of the Penola during the BGLE.
Barry Island is an island lying in the centre of the Debenham Islands, off the west coast of Graham Land in Antarctica. Barry Island was charted by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under John Riddoch Rymill, who used Barry Island for a base in 1936 and 1937. Barry Island was named by John Riddoch Rymill for Kenneth Barry Lempriere Debenham (1920–43), the eldest son of Frank Debenham, member of the British Graham Land Expedition Advisory Committee. The Argentinian base San Martín is located on this island.
The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was an era in the exploration of the continent of Antarctica which began at the end of the 19th century, and ended after the First World War; the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of 1921–1922 is often cited by historians as the dividing line between the "Heroic" and "Mechanical" ages.
John Riddoch Rymill was an Australian polar explorer, who had the rare second clasp added to his Polar Medal.
Prospect Point is a headland at the west extremity of Velingrad Peninsula on Graham Coast in Graham Land, four kilometres south of Ferin Head and immediately east of the Fish Islands. Roughly charted by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under Rymill, 1934–37. Photographed by Hunting Aerosurveys Ltd. in 1956–57. The name was suggested in 1957 by E. P. Arrowsmith, Governor of the Falkland Islands.
Bertram Glacier is a glacier, 15 nautical miles (28 km) long and 18 nautical miles (33 km) wide at its mouth, which flows west from the Dyer Plateau of Palmer Land into George VI Sound between Wade Point and Gurney Point.
Penola Strait is a strait 11 nautical miles (20 km) long and averaging 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) wide, separating the Argentine Islands, Petermann Island and Hovgaard Island from the west coast of Graham Land. Traversed by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition under Gerlache on 12 February 1898. Named by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE), 1934–37, under Rymill, for the expedition ship Penola.
Millett Glacier is a heavily crevassed glacier in Antarctica, 13 nautical miles (24 km) long and 7 nautical miles (13 km) wide, flowing west from the Dyer Plateau of Palmer Land to George VI Sound, immediately north of Wade Point. In its lower reaches the north side of this glacier merges with Meiklejohn Glacier. Millett Glacier was first surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under John Rymill, and was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1954 for Hugh M. Millett, chief engineer of the Penola during the BGLE.
Ryder Glacier is a gently sloping glacier, 13 nautical miles (24 km) long and wide, flowing west from the Dyer Plateau of Palmer Land into George VI Sound to the south of Gurney Point. First surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under Rymill. Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) in 1954 for Captain Robert E.D. Ryder, Royal Navy, who as Lieutenant, was commander of the Penola during the BGLE, 1934–37.
Lumus Rock is a rock located 4 nautical miles (7 km) west-northwest of Sooty Rock, marking the southwestern extremity of the Wilhelm Archipelago off the Graham Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica. It was discovered by British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE), 1934–37, and named "Lumus Reef" after one of the expedition cats, the only one to survive the Antarctic winter. The BGLE naming has been accepted because of long use, though a change in generic term, from reef to rock, was made on recommendation by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1971. The rock is situated roughly midway between Anvers and Renaud Island at 7.8 miles (12.6 km) west-northwest of the Betbeder Islands, in the Hugo Island Trough, belonging to the Palmer Deep, an inner shelf structural depression.
Clarke Glacier is a 2 miles (3.2 km)-wide, 20 miles (32 km)-long glacier, located on the west coast of Graham Land in Antarctica. It flows west, along the north side of Sickle Mountain and the Baudin Peaks, to Mikkelsen Bay.
Brian Birley Roberts was a British polar expert, ornithologist and diplomat who played a key role in the development of the Antarctic Treaty System. A biography of Roberts has been published.
Surgeon Captain Edward W. Bingham, was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer who had the rare third clasp added to his Polar Medal.
The Ryder Bay Islands Important Bird Area is a 520 ha designated site on the south-east coast of Adelaide Island, Antarctica. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant numbers of breeding seabirds, notably south polar skuas. The site encompasses the Léonie Islands lying at the mouth of Ryder Bay, as well as Rothera Point, the eastern headland of the bay.
