Cape Laurens () is a cape which marks the northwestern extremity of

Laurens Peninsula Laurens Peninsula () is a rugged peninsula surmounted by several ice-covered peaks that forms the northwestern part of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. The name was applied by the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition following ...

and

Heard Island The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size ...

. The name was probably applied by Captain Franklin F. Smith, of the American bark ''Laurens'', who visited Heard Island in 1855–56 and who, with Captain

Erasmus Darwin Rogers Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

, initiated sealing operations and longtime American sealer occupation of Heard Island. The name appears on a chart by the British expedition under

George Nares Vice-Admiral Sir George Strong Nares (24 April 1831 – 15 January 1915) was a Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. He commanded the ''Challenger'' Expedition, and the British Arctic Expedition. He was highly thought of as a leader an ...

, which visited the island in HMS ''Challenger'' in 1874 and utilized the names then in use by the sealers.

References

Headlands of Heard Island and McDonald Islands {{Subantarctic-geo-stub