King Peninsula () is an ice-covered peninsula, long and wide, lying south of

Thurston Island 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 ...

and forming the south side of

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. ...

, Antarctica. It projects from the continental ice sheet and trends west between the

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, ...

and Cosgrove Ice Shelf to terminate at the

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 ...

Location

The north shore of the King Peninsula is the western end of the

Eights Coast Eights Coast is a portion of the coast of West Antarctica, between Cape Waite and Pfrogner Point. To the west is the Walgreen Coast, and to the east is the Bryan Coast. It is part of Ellsworth Land and stretches between 103°24'W and 89°35'W. T ...

, while the west and southern shore is in the

Walgreen Coast The Walgreen Coast () is a portion of the coast of Antarctica between Cape Herlacher and Cape Waite, or between Eights Coast on the east and Bakutis Coast in the west. It is part of Marie Byrd Land. It extends from 103°24'W to 114°12'W. It was ...

is to the north, completely filled by the western part of the

. The

is to the west. Ferrerro Bay and the Cosgrove Ice Shelf are to the south. Burke Island is in the sea to the west. The Waite Islands are off Cape Waite, the northwest extremity of the peninsula. Marelli Glacier drains northeast from the peninsula into the Abbot Ice Shelf.

Mapping and name

The King Peninsula was photographed from the air by United States 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 ...

, 1946–47. It was plotted from these photos as a long island, or possible peninsula. Photos taken by the United States Navy in 1966 show it is a peninsula. King Peninsula was named by the United States

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 Fleet Admiral

Ernest J. King Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878 – 25 June 1956) was an American naval officer who served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the Un ...

, United States Navy, Chief of Naval Operations from 1942 to 1945, who approved the preliminary work for Operation Highjump (OpHjp).

Glaciers

Glaciers flowing into Peacock Sound are, from northwest to southeast,

Stapleton Glacier

Glacier about long flowing east from King Peninsula just north of Morelli Glacier. Named by US-ACAN after Jo Anne Stapleton,

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

(USGS),

Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...

, geographer and map specialist, participated in Antarctic map production from the 1980s to the present, part of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) team that compiled the 1:5,000,000-scale Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer maps of Antarctica and the 1: 250,000-scale Landsat TM image maps of the

Siple Coast Siple Coast () is the middle portion of the relatively ill-defined coast along the east side of the Ross Ice Shelf, between the north end of Gould Coast () and the south end of Shirase Coast (). The area was originally called Kirton Coast, but was ...

area.

Morelli Glacier

. A glacier in the west part of King Peninsula, southeast of Cape Waite, draining northeast to Abbot Ice Shelf in Peacock Sound. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-66. Named by US-ACAN for Panfilo S. Morelli, glaciologist at Byrd Station, 1961-62.

Rignot Glacier

Glacier about long draining north from the King Peninsula into Abbot Ice Shelf. Named by US-ACAN after Eric J. Rignot, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, geophysicist; uses field and remotely sensed data to study Antarctic glacier mechanics from the 1990s to the present.

Rosanova Glacier

Glacier about long flowing north from King Peninsula into the Abbot Ice Shelf. Named by US-ACAN after Christine E. Rosanova, United States Geological Survey (USGS), Flagstaff, AZ; specialist in the use of satellite imagery for geological and glaciological studies from the early 1990s to 2002; a pioneer in the use of imagery for glacier velocity measurements.

Features

Features surrounding the peninsula include, clockwise from the south,

Cosgrove Ice Shelf

. An ice shelf long and wide, occupying the inner (east) part of the embayment between King Peninsula and Canisteo Peninsula. Mapped from air photos taken by United States Navy OpHjp, 1946-47. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Jerome R. Cosgrove, United States Navy Reserve, assistant communications officer on the staff of the Commander, United States Navy Support Force, Antarctica, during United States Navy OpDFrz, 1967 and 1968.

Ferrero Bay

. A body of water about wide, lying immediately west of Cosgrove Ice Shelf and occupying the outer (west) part of the embayment between King and Canisteo Peninsulas. Mapped from air photos taken by United States Navy OpHjp in December 1946. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Commander H.H. Ferrero, communications officer on the staff of the Commander, United States Navy Support Force, Antarctica, 1966-68.

Early Islands

. Group of small islands lying just west of Cosgrove Ice Shelf in the southeast corner of Ferrero Bay, Amundsen Sea. Mapped by USGS from ground surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-66. Named by US-ACAN for Tommy Joe Early, biologist with the Ellsworth Land Survey, 1968-69.

Burke Island

. An ice-covered island about long and wide, lying southwest of Cape Waite, King Peninsula. Delineated from aerial photographs taken by United States Navy Squadron VX-6 in January 1960. Named by US-ACAN for Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, United States Navy, Chief of Naval Operations during United States Navy Deep Freeze operations of 1956-61.

Waite Islands

. A group of small islands in Amundsen Sea, lying west of Cape Waite, the northwest extremity of King Peninsula. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-66. Named by US-ACAN for their proximity to Cape Waite.

Cape Waite

. Cape at the northwest extremity of King Peninsula, marking the southwest side of the entrance to Peacock Sound. Delineated from air photos taken by United States Navy OpHjp in December 1946. Named by US-ACAN for Amory H. Waite, member of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, 1933-35, and communications specialist on the ''Atka'' vovage of 1955 and the United States Navy Bellingshausen Sea Expedition of 1959-60.

References

Sources

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