Gam Point

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Gam Point ( 61°55′S58°0′W / 61.917°S 58.000°W / -61.917; -58.000 Coordinates: 61°55′S58°0′W / 61.917°S 58.000°W / -61.917; -58.000 ) is a rocky point 2 nautical miles (4 km) southeast of False Round Point on the north coast of King George Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The point is one of the features named Pyritic or Esther Islands by Scottish geologist David Ferguson in 1913–14. Although Ferguson represented the point as a rocky island separated from the ice cliff of King George Island by a channel 400 feet (120 m) wide, air photos show that there is no channel. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1960. The word "gam" is an old sealers' and whalers' term for the occasions when groups of men from several vessels met in one of them for a gossip. Nearby Esther Harbour was an anchorage frequently used by sealers. [1]

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

False Round Point is a point 16 km (9.9 mi) west of North Foreland and 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Ridley Island, on the north coast of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. The point has appeared on charts since about 1822. It was probably named for its similarity to Round Point, which lies 22 km (14 mi) to the west, by Discovery Investigations personnel on the Discovery II who charted the north coast of this island in 1937.

King George Island (South Shetland Islands) island of the South Shetland Islands

King George Island is the largest of the South Shetland Islands, lying 120 km off the coast of Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. The island was named after King George III.

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Bolinder Bluff is a prominent bluff crowned by three buttresses of dark grey and light brown rock, overlooking Venus Bay 3 nautical miles (6 km) southeast of False Round Point on the north coast of King George Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The feature was known to sealers using the anchorage at nearby Esther Harbor in the 1820s. It was charted and named by Discovery Investigations personnel on the Discovery II in 1937 when the breakdown of the Bolinder boat engine caused 6 men to be marooned for 9 days on the beach at the foot of the bluff.

Braillard Point is a headland forming the northeast end of Ardley Island, off the southwest end of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. It was charted and named by DI personnel on the Discovery II in 1935, for Able Seaman A. T. Braillard, a member of the crew in 1931–33 and 1933–35. The island has been designated an Antarctic Specially Protected Area because of the importance of its seabird colonies.

Brimstone Peak is a conspicuous peak surmounting the rocky headland between Venus Bay and Emerald Bay, on the north coast of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. The name North Foreland originally appeared for this feature on a chart by British sealer Captain George Powell in 1822, but this name has since become firmly established for the northeast cape of King George Island. The name Brimstone was applied in 1937 by DI personnel on the RSS Discovery II, because of its yellow brimstone color.

Caroline Bluff is a bluff lying 1 nautical mile (2 km) southeast of North Foreland, King George Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The bluff was charted and named "North Foreland Head" by Scottish geologist David Ferguson in 1921. To avoid confusion with North Foreland, the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee rejected this name in 1960 and substituted a new one. The Hobart sealing vessel Caroline visited the South Shetland Islands in 1821–22.

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Norma Cove is a cove between Suffield Point and Jasper Point, Maxwell Bay, King George Island. The feature was named "Bukhta Norma" or "Norma Inlet" by L.S. Govorukha and I.M. Simonov, 1973, following Soviet Antarctic Expedition surveys from the nearby Bellingshausen Station.

Davey Point is a conspicuous rocky headland 6 km (3.7 mi) south-west of Round Point on the north coast of King George Island, in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica.

Demay Point is a headland which forms the west side of the entrance to Admiralty Bay, King George Island, in the South Shetland Islands. This point was known to sealers as early as 1822. It was named almost 100 years later by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1908–10, under Jean-Baptiste Charcot. It has a Polish refuge, but it is unclear whether the refuge is being used at all

Jasper Point is the northeastern entrance point to Norma Cove, Fildes Peninsula, on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. The point is bounded by cliffs of black and buff rocks, in which occur veins of red and green jasper. It was so named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee following geological work by the British Antarctic Survey in 1975–76.

Suffield Point

Suffield Point is the south-west entrance point of Norma Cove, Fildes Peninsula, on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It was charted in the course of the Discovery Investigations, 1933-35, and named after boatswain William E. Suffield. The site is part of the Fildes Peninsula Antarctic Specially Protected Area, designated as such because of its paleontological values.

Pyrites Island

Pyrites Island is the largest of three small islands lying northeast of Gam Point and forming the east side of Esther Harbor, off the north coast of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. In 1913–14, the rocky extremity of Gam Point and the adjoining islands to the northwest and southeast were named Esther, Pyritis or Pyritic Islands by Scottish geologist David Ferguson, who reported they were composed of pyrites and vein quartz. From Ferguson's description it appears that the ice cliff behind the Gam Point has advanced since 1914 so that this "island" is now joined to the mainland. The highest and most conspicuous of the remaining islands is the one here described. The name Pyrites Island was recommended by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) in 1960 to avoid confusion with the other existing "Esther" names in the vicinity.

Pottinger Point is a low-lying, ice-free promontory 4 km (2.5 mi) east of Round Point, about 500 m long, on the north coast of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It was named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) in 1960 for Captain Pottinger, Master of the Tartar from London, who visited the South Shetland Islands in 1821-22.

Esther Harbour is a small harbour at the west side of Venus Bay, lying immediately west of Pyrites Island and south of Gam Point, on the north coast of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. The harbour was known to both American and British sealers as early as 1821. The sealing vessel Esther of Boston worked in this area in the 1820–21 season.

Fildes Strait

Fildes Strait is a strait which extends in a general east-west direction between King George Island and Nelson Island, in the South Shetland Islands. This strait has been known to sealers in the area since about 1822, but at that time it appeared on the charts as "Field's Strait". It was probably named for Robert Fildes, a British sealer of that period, whose vessel Robert was wrecked in Clothier Harbour in 1822.

Meinardus Glacier is an extensive glacier in Palmer Land, Antarctica. It flows in an east-northeast direction to a point immediately east of Mount Barkow, where it is joined from the northwest by Haines Glacier, and then flows east to enter New Bedford Inlet close west of Court Nunatak, on the east coast of Palmer Land. The glacier was discovered and photographed from the air in December 1940 by the United States Antarctic Service. During 1947 it was photographed from the air by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition under Finn Ronne, who in conjunction with the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) charted it from the ground. It was named by the FIDS for Wilhelm Meinardus, a German meteorologist and climatologist and author of many publications including the meteorological results of the German Antarctic Expedition under Drygalski, 1901–03.

References

  1. "Gam Point". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2012-04-16.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "Gam Point" (content from the Geographic Names Information System ).

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