Ferguson Peak () is a peak, high, standing close west of the head of
Cooper Bay
Cooper Island is a small island, long, which lies at the north side of the entrance to Drygalski Fjord, off the southeast end of South Georgia. It was discovered by a British expedition under James Cook in 1775, and named for Lieutenant Robe ...
in the eastern extremity of
South Georgia. It was photographed by
Niall Rankin during his visit to South Georgia in 1947. Rankin did not disclose the locality because he wished to protect the
fur seal
Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively l ...
s found there and shown in his photo. The photo was identified as the feature now described by the
British South Georgia Expedition, 1954–55, and the peak was unofficially named "Fur Seal Peak". Since
Bird Island, at the west end of South Georgia, is now the only place where fur seals breed, this name is misleading. A new name, "Ferguson Peak" was recommended by the
UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee
The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) and ...
in 1957 for
David Ferguson, a Scottish geologist, who carried out geological investigations in South Georgia in 1911–12 for Messrs.
Christian Salvesen
Christian Salvesen was a Scottish whaling, transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in western Europe. In December 2007, it was acquired by French listed transport ...
and Company.
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References
Mountains and hills of South Georgia
{{SouthGeorgia-geo-stub