Iris Bay

Iris Bay is a small bay at the east end of South Georgia, immediately south of Müller Point and lying six miles north-west of Cape Vahsel, along the embayment between Cape Vahsel and Cape Charlotte.

In 1775 James Cook discovered and charted South Georgia, and he gave the name 'Sandwich Bay' to the whole embayment between Cape Vahsel and Cape Charlotte, after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, then First Lord of the Admiralty. The name was later restricted on maps to the small bay described, since a name for the large embayment was not considered useful. The bay extended as the Herz Glacier retreated inland. The South Georgia Survey, 1951–52, reported that the name Iris Bay for the same feature is well established in use among the whalers and sealers in South Georgia, and that the name Sandwich Bay was unknown locally, so 'Iris Bay' was approved to conform with local usage.

Location

• Location map: 54°42’0"S, 35°55’60"W

References

• Gazetteer and Map of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: Iris Bay