Gibbon Bay is a bay long and wide, entered between Rayner Point and

The Turret The Turret () is a conspicuous rocky headland, 460 m high, at the south side of the entrance to Gibbon Bay on the east coast of Coronation Island, in the South Orkney Islands. Probably first sighted by Captain George Powell and Captain Nathani ...

along the east coast of

Coronation Island Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, long and from wide. The island extends in a general east–west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest rising to . History T ...

, in the South Orkney Islands of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. The bay was first seen in December 1821 by Captain George Powell and Captain

Nathaniel Palmer Nathaniel Brown Palmer (August 8, 1799June 21, 1877) was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He gave his name to Palmer Land, Antarctica, which he explored in 1820 on his sloop ''Hero''. He was born in Stonin ...

, but was more accurately delineated on a 1912 chart by Captain

Petter Sorlle Petter may refer to: People: *Petter (given name) * W. E. W. Petter, English aircraft designer *Arlie Petters, a Belizean-American mathematical physicist *Tom Petters, former CEO and chairman of Petters Group Worldwide Place names: *Petter Bay, a ...

. It was recharted in 1933 by

Discovery Investigations The Discovery Investigations were a series of scientific cruises and shore-based investigations into the biology of whales in the Southern Ocean. They were funded by the British Colonial Office and organised by the Discovery Committee in London, ...

personnel on the ''

Discovery II ''Discovery II'', built in 1971, is the second of three Discovery sternwheel riverboats operated by the Riverboat Discovery company. ''Discovery II'' is still in use as a tour vessel on the Chena and Tanana rivers near Fairbanks, Alaska. Hist ...

'' and named for the ship's surgeon, Dr G.M. Gibbon.

Important Bird Area

The bay has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a large breeding colony of about 13,000 pairs of chinstrap penguins as well as being a nesting site for

snow petrel The snow petrel (''Pagodroma nivea'') is the only member of the genus ''Pagodroma.'' It is one of only three birds that has been seen at the Geographic South Pole, along with the Antarctic petrel and the south polar skua, which have the most s ...

References

Bays of the South Orkney Islands Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Seabird colonies Penguin colonies {{SouthOrkneys-geo-stub