Breakwind Ridge

Breakwind Ridge is a prominent rocky ridge on South Georgia two nautical miles long in a north-south direction and which rises to 2822 feet above sea level. It is seen close south-west of the head of Fortuna Bay on the north coast of the island.

The ridge was roughly mapped by Discovery Investigations in 1929-30 during their survey of Fortuna Bay and named 'Breakwind Range'. Following a resurvey by the South Georgia Survey, 1951–52, the descriptive term was altered to "ridge", which is more suitable for this relatively small feature. The name suggests a beneficial function of this ridge in protecting anchorages at Fortuna Bay from violent south-westerly and westerly winds.

A gap in the ridge, known as the Breakwind Gap, was the route taken by Shackleton, Worsley and Crean on their epic traverse of the island in May 1916, and it is today an important landmark on the Shackleton Commemorative Route

Location

• Location map: 54°9’8"S, 36°50’50"W

References

• Gazetteer and Map of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: Breakwind Ridge