Cumberland East Bay
Cumberland East Bay is a bay forming the eastern arm of Cumberland Bay on the north coast of South Georgia. It is entered between Sappho Point on the Thatcher Peninsula and Barff Point on the Barff Peninsula. It is nearly three miles wide, and extends eight miles in a south-easterly direction.
History
This feature was first surveyed by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, who named it "South Bay". It was remapped during 1926–29 by Discovery Investigations personnel and renamed "East Cumberland Bay", which is more descriptive of its geographic position. The shortened form "East Bay" was simultaneously used. Following the South Georgia Survey, 1951–52, the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee proposed that the name be altered to 'Cumberland East Bay' and that all other names be rejected. This change brings together information about the whole of Cumberland Bay in one place in indexes, and will avoid confusion with East Bay in Prince Olav Harbour, South Georgia.
On 22 April – 24 April, 1982, during the Falklands War, the British Special Boat Service attempted to cross Cumberland East Bay. They had landed in Hound Bay, and traversed the Sörling Valley, but were prevented from attacking Argentine positions by incessant ice and snow.[1]
Major features
Many features within the bay have been individually charted and named by various Antarctic expeditions and surveys.
Western coast
The western headland of the bay is Sappho Point on Thatcher Peninsula. Working south along the west coast, the next major feature is King Edward Cove, approximately two and a half miles south-west. To the south of that, the glacial plain Hestesletten extends from inland out to the coast. Moraine Fjord forms the west head of the bay, separated from it by Greene Peninsula. Nordenskjöld Glacier flows into the head of the main portion of Cumberland East Bay.
Eastern coast
The bay is defined to the east by Barff Peninsula, culminating in Barff Point to the north. Along that coast, the small cove Sandebugten forms the west end of Reindeer Valley. The name "Sandebugten" appears on a 1929 British Admiralty chart but probably was applied earlier by Norwegian whalers operating from South Georgia.
Location
- Location map: 54°17’55"S, 36°24’54"W
References
- ↑ Bicheno, Hugh (2006) Razor's Edge: The Unofficial History of the Falklands War. London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-7538-2186-2
- Gazetteer and Map of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: Cumberland East Bay
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |
|---|---|
| South Georgia: | Annenkov Island • Bird Island • Clerke Rocks • Cooper Island • Grass Island • Kupriyanov Islands • Pickersgill Islands • Saddle Island • Shag Rocks • South Georgia • Welcome Islands • Willis Islands • Trinity Island • Grassholm • Black Rocks • Black Rock |
| South Sandwich Islands: |
Bellingshausen • Bristol • Candlemas • Cook • Leskov • Montagu • Saunders • Thule • Vindication • Visokoi • Zavodovski |