Thurston Island is an ice-covered, glacially dissected island, long, wide and in area, lying a short way off the northwest end of Ellsworth Land, Antarctica. It is the third-largest island of Antarctica, after Alexander Island and Berkner Island. The island was discovered from the air by Rear Admiral

Byrd Byrd commonly refers to: * William Byrd (c. 1540 – 1623), an English composer of the Renaissance * Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), an American naval officer and explorer Byrd or Byrds may also refer to: Other people * Byrd (surname), includin ...

on February 27, 1940, who named it for W. Harris Thurston, a New York textile manufacturer, designer of the windproof "

Byrd Cloth Byrd Cloth is a type of fabric similar to Grenfell Cloth which was designed in the 1934 by Harris Thurston and heavily promoted by Antarctic explorer Richard Byrd. The material was considered windproof, yet the weave allowed some air to penetrate ...

" and sponsor of Antarctic expeditions. Thurston Island is separated from the mainland by

Peacock Sound Peacock Sound is an ice-filled sound, long and wide, separating Thurston Island from the Eights Coast of Ellsworth Land in Antarctica. The sound is occupied by the western part of the Abbot Ice Shelf, and is therefore not navigable by ships. ...

, which is occupied by the western portion of

Abbot Ice Shelf The Abbot Ice Shelf is an ice shelf long and wide, bordering Eights Coast from Cape Waite to Pfrogner Point in Antarctica. Thurston Island lies along the northern edge of the western half of this ice shelf; other sizable islands (Sherman, ...

. It divides

Bellingshausen Sea The Bellingshausen Sea is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula between 57°18'W and 102°20'W, west of Alexander Island, east of Cape Flying Fish on Thurston Island, and south of Peter I Island (there the southern ''Vostokkyste ...

to the east from

Amundsen Sea The Amundsen Sea, an arm of the Southern Ocean off Marie Byrd Land in western Antarctica, lies between Cape Flying Fish (the northwestern tip of Thurston Island) to the east and Cape Dart on Siple Island to the west. Cape Flying Fish marks the ...

to the west. Originally mistaken as a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

, the feature was not recognised an island until 1960.

Geography

The western extremity of the island is

Cape Flying Fish Cape Flying Fish (, also known as Cape Dart) is an ice-covered cape which forms the western extremity of Thurston Island. It was discovered by Richard E. Byrd and members of the US Antarctic Program in a flight from the USS ''Bear'' in Februar ...

. The eastern extremity is Cape Annawan, off Tierney Peninsula. The southeast end of the island is

Cape Walker Cape Walker () is an ice-covered cape which forms the southeast end of Thurston Island. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after Captain Edward K. Walker, captain of the ''Canisteo'', a tanker in the Eastern Group of U.S. N ...

. The island is divided south-north by the Walker Mountains, a range of peaks and nunataks. Several other peaks are situated on the

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and ora ...

and Noville Peninsulas. There are many glaciers on Thurston Island.

Features by coast

North coast

The north coast of the island is indented by a series of alternating

inlets An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In marine geogra ...

and peninsulas.

Cape Petersen Cape Petersen () is a rounded ice-covered cape on the north side of Thurston Island, about 18 nautical miles (33 km) east-northeast of Cape Flying Fish. It was delineated from air photos taken by U.S. Navy Operation HIGHJUMP in December 1 ...

forms the westernmost portion of the northern coast. East of that is Jones Peninsula, then Dyer Point and Hughes Peninsula. Henry Inlet indents the coast to the east, and Tinglof Peninsula forms its eastern shore. Wagoner Inlet is east of that, followed by Starr Peninsula. Glacier Bight is to the east, and just north off the coast from them are the hazardous Porters Pinnacles. East of Starr Peninsula are Potaka Inlet,

Kearns Peninsula Kearns Peninsula () is a broad ice-covered peninsula between Potaka Inlet and Peale Inlet on the north side of Thurston Island, Antarctica. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after Lieutenant William H. Kearns, U.S. Navy ...

, followed by

Peale Inlet Peale Inlet is an ice-filled inlet about 16 nautical miles (30 km) long, lying immediately west of Noville Peninsula and indenting the north side of Thurston Island. It was delineated from aerial photographs taken by U.S. Navy Operation ...

. The larger Noville Peninsula is to the east. It is bordered by

Murphy Inlet Murphy Inlet is an ice-filled inlet about 18 nautical miles (33 km) long, with two parallel branches at the head, lying between Noville and Edwards Peninsulas on the north side of Thurston Island, Antarctica. It was delineated from aer ...

, whose southern end is split into two prongs by

Linsley Peninsula Linsley Peninsula () is a broad, roughly rectangular ice-covered peninsula which protrudes into the south part of Murphy Inlet, northern Thurston Island, Antarctica, dividing the inlet into two arms at the head. The peninsula was first plotted f ...

and

Ball Peninsula Ball Peninsula () is a broad ice-covered peninsula on the north side of Thurston Island, Antarctica. It extends into Murphy Inlet between Noville Peninsula and Edwards Peninsula. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names afte ...

Edwards Peninsula Edwards Peninsula is an ice-covered peninsula about long, between Murphy Inlet and Koether Inlet on the north side of Thurston Island. It was delineated from aerial photographs made by U.S. Navy Operation HIGHJUMP in December 1946 and by U.S ...

Koether Inlet Koether Inlet is an ice-filled inlet about long, indenting the north coast of Thurston Island, Antarctica, between Edwards Peninsula and Evans Peninsula. It was first delineated from air photos taken by U.S. Navy Squadron VX-6 in January 1960 ...

, and the larger Evans Peninsula are to the east.

Cadwalader Inlet Cadwalader Inlet is an ice-filled inlet about long, indenting the northeast coast of Thurston Island between Evans Peninsula and Lofgren Peninsula. It was discovered on helicopter flights from the USS ''Burton Island'' and USS ''Glacier'' b ...

, Lofgren Peninsula, and

Morgan Inlet Morgan Inlet is an ice-filled inlet about long, with two branches, indenting the east end of Thurston Island, Antarctica, between Lofgren Peninsula and Tierney Peninsula. The south side of the larger north arm of the inlet is an area of icy ...

form the northeastern coast.

East coast

The easternmost point of the island is Tierney Peninsula, southeast of which is Seraph Bay. Simpson Bluff, a broad ice-covered bluff, sits between

Levko Glacier Levko Glacier () is a glacier flowing from Pallid Crest to the eastern end of Thurston Island, Antarctica. It enters Seraph Bay between Tierney Peninsula and Simpson Bluff. The glacier was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names aft ...

and Savage Glacier where they enter the bay. Nearby Baker Knob is a small rounded coastal elevation which has an abrupt east face. Both Simpson Bluff and Baker Knob were named by the

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica. History The committee was established ...

(US-ACAN) for personnel from the Eastern Group of

U.S. Navy Operation HIGHJUMP Operation HIGHJUMP, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946–1947, (also called Task Force 68), was a United States Navy (USN) operation to establish the Antarctic research base Little America IV. The opera ...

: Photographer's Mates R.M. Simpson and T.W. Baker, respectively. Operation HIGHJUMP obtained aerial photographs of Thurston Island and adjacent coastal areas in 1946-47. Snow-covered Harrison Nunatak stands south of Savage Glacier. It was discovered on helicopter flights from the USS ''Burton Island'' (AGB-1) and USS ''Glacier'' (AGB-4) during the U.S. Navy

Expedition in February 1960, and was named by US-ACAN for

Henry T. Harrison Jr. Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, a

U.S. Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the p ...

meteorologist with the Byrd Antarctic Expedition in 1928–30. The southeast point of the island is

South coast

On the south side of the island are

King Peninsula King Peninsula () is an ice-covered peninsula, long and wide, lying south of Thurston Island and forming the south side of Peacock Sound, Antarctica. It projects from the continental ice sheet and trends west between the Abbot Ice Shelf and Cos ...

Williamson Peninsula Williamson Peninsula () is an ice-covered peninsula midway along the south side of Thurston Island. It extends southwest into Abbot Ice Shelf between Schwartz Cove and O'Dowd Cove. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) after Li ...

Evans Point Evans may refer to: People *Evans (surname) *List of people with surname Evans Places United States *Evans Island, an island of Alaska *Evans, Colorado *Evans, Georgia *Evans County, Georgia *Evans, New York *Evans Mills, New York *Evans City, ...

, and

Von der Wall Point Thurston Island is an ice-covered, glacially dissected island, long, wide and in area, lying a short way off the northwest end of Ellsworth Land, Antarctica. It is the third-largest island of Antarctica, after Alexander Island and Berkner Isl ...

, projecting into

. Williamson Peninsula is bordered by

Schwartz Cove Schwartz Cove is an ice-filled cove of Abbot Ice Shelf located west of Williamson Peninsula on the south side of Thurston Island. Trice Islands lie at the cove entrance. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) after Commander Isi ...

and

O'Dowd Cove Thurston Island is an ice-covered, glacially dissected island, long, wide and in area, lying a short way off the northwest end of Ellsworth Land, Antarctica. It is the third-largest island of Antarctica, after Alexander Island and Berkner Isl ...

. Shelton Head is a

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

marked by exposed rock, located west of

Long Glacier This is a list of glaciers on Thurston Island, an ice-covered, glacially dissected island, long, wide and in area, lying a short way off the northwest end of Ellsworth Land, Antarctica. It is the third-largest island of Antarctica, after Alex ...

on the south coast of Thurston Island. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960–66, and named by US-ACAN for

John A. Shelton John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

meteorologist at

Byrd Station The Byrd Station is a former research station established by the United States during the International Geophysical Year by U.S. Navy Seabees during Operation Deep Freeze II in West Antarctica. History A joint Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marin ...

, 1963-64. Prickly Ridge is a rounded ice-covered ridge west of Shelton Head on the south side of Thurston Island. The descriptive name was given by the

(US-ACAN); small dispersed

nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit ''nunataq'') is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They are also called glacial islands. Examples are natural pyramidal peaks. ...

s rise above the ice surface, giving the feature a prickly appearance. Belknap Nunatak, an ice-covered spur, is the largest outcrop on the ridge. It was mapped by the USGS from surveys and from U.S. Navy air photos, 1960–66, and named by US-ACAN for William Belknap, a field assistant at

, 1964–65.

References

{{Authority control Islands of Ellsworth Land