Murray Island (Antarctica)
  Murray Island Location in Antarctica | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Antarctica |
| Coordinates | 64°22′S 61°34′W / 64.367°S 61.567°W |
| Length | 10 km (6 mi) |
| Administration | |
| Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System | |
Murray Island (64°22′S 61°34′W / 64.367°S 61.567°W) is an island 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) long lying at the south-west side of Hughes Bay, off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica.[1]
Location
Murray Island is also known as Bluff Island.[2] It lies at the southwest end of Hughes Bay, on the Danco Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, on the west side of Graham Land. It is in the Gerlache Strait. Brabant Island is across the strait to the west, and Two Hummock Island is to the north. Murray Island lies between Hughes Bay to the northeast and Charlotte Bay to the southwest. The Herbert Plateau is to the southeast.[3]
Discovery and name
Murray Island has been known to seal hunters operating in the area since the 1820s, although it was shown on charts as part of the mainland. In 1922 the whale catcher Graham passed through the channel separating it from the mainland, proving its insularity. It was named in association with Cape Murray, the seaward extremity of the island.[1]
Important Bird Area
A 98 hectares (240 acres) ice-free site on the western side of a small peninsula on the northern coast of the island was designated the Bluff Island Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because, in 1989, it supported a breeding colony of about 180 pairs of Antarctic shags (Phalacrocorax Atriceps Bransfieldensis).[2]
Features
Features, and nearby features, include:
Cape Murray
64°21′S 61°38′W / 64.350°S 61.633°W. A cape forming the western end of Murray Island. First charted by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (BelgAE) under Lieutenant Adrien de Gerlache (1897-99) and at the time considered to be joined to Graham Land. Named by Gerlache, presumably for Sir John Murray, British marine zoologist and oceanographer, an ardent advocate of Antarctic research.[1]
Murray Harbor
64°21′S 61°35′W / 64.350°S 61.583°W. A small harbor lying east of Cape Murray on the north side of Murray Island. The name was used by whalers in the area in 1922.[1]
Challenger Island
64°21′S 61°35′W / 64.350°S 61.583°W. An island lying just north of Murray Island. The name was used in 1906 by Johan Gunnar Andersson of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (SwedAE) under Otto Nordenskjöld, 1901-04.[4]
Graham Passage
64°24′S 61°31′W / 64.400°S 61.517°W. A passage separating Murray Island from the west coast of Graham Land. Named by Captain Skidsmo after his whale catcher Graham, which was the first to pass through it, on March 20, 1922.[5]
Santos Peak
64°25′S 61°32′W / 64.417°S 61.533°W. A peak lying south of Murray Island, on the west coast of Graham Land. Charted by the BelgAE under Gerlache, 1897-99. Named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) in 1960 for Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873-1932), Brazilian inventor resident in France, who designed and flew 14 small airships and accomplished the first official powered flight in Europe in 1906.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d Alberts 1995, p. 513.
- ^ a b Bluff Island Birdlife.
- ^ Graham Land and South Shetland BAS.
- ^ Alberts 1995, p. 127.
- ^ Alberts 1995, p. 290.
- ^ Alberts 1995, p. 648.
Sources
- Alberts, Fred G., ed. (1995), Geographic Names of the Antarctic (PDF) (2 ed.), United States Board on Geographic Names, retrieved 3 December 2023
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Board on Geographic Names. - "Bluff Island", Data Zone, Birdlife International, retrieved 20 May 2024
- Graham Land and South Shetland Islands, BAS: British Antarctic Survey, 2005, retrieved 3 May 2024
