Falkland Islands Dependencies 1944 9d Graham Land

Graham Land is the portion of the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

that lies north of a line joining

Cape Jeremy Cape Jeremy is a cape marking the east side of the north entrance to George VI Sound and the west end of a line dividing Graham Land and Palmer Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British Graham Land expedition, 1934–37, under John Riddoc ...

and

Cape Agassiz Cape Agassiz is the east tip of Hollick-Kenyon Peninsula, a narrow ice-drowned spur extending east from the main mountain axis of the Antarctic Peninsula between Mobiloil Inlet and Revelle Inlet. The cape is the east end of a line from Cape Je ...

. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee and the US

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 ...

, in which the name "Antarctic Peninsula" was approved for the major peninsula 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 contine ...

, and the names Graham Land and

Palmer Land Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic N ...

for the northern and southern portions, respectively. The line dividing them is roughly 69 degrees south. Graham Land is named after Sir James R. G. Graham,

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

at the time of

John Biscoe John Biscoe (28 April 1794 – 1843) was an English mariner and explorer who commanded the first expedition known to have sighted the areas named Enderby Land and Graham Land along the coast of Antarctica. The expedition also found a number of is ...

's exploration of the west side of Graham Land in 1832. It is claimed by Argentina (as part of

Argentine Antarctica Argentine Antarctica ( es, Antártida Argentina or Sector Antártico Argentino) is an area of Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. It consists of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the ...

), Britain (as part of the

British Antarctic Territory The British Antarctic Territory (BAT) is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories, of which it is by far the largest by area. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between ...

) and Chile (as part of the

Chilean Antarctic Territory The Chilean Antarctic Territory or Chilean Antarctica (Spanish: ''Territorio Chileno Antártico'', ''Antártica Chilena'') is the territory in Antarctica claimed by Chile. The Chilean Antarctic Territory ranges from 53° West to 90° West and f ...

). Graham Land is the closest part of Antarctica to South America. Thus it is the usual destination for small ships taking paying visitors on Antarctic trips from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

.A cruise to Antarctica is a trip like no other
/ref> (Larger ships are not allowed to disembark passengers.) Until the discoveries of the British Graham Land Expedition of 1934–1937, it was generally supposed to be an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

rather than a peninsula. The mountains of Graham Land are the last range of the

American Cordillera The American Cordillera is a chain of mountain ranges (cordilleras) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America and South America, with Aconcagua as the h ...

, the almost continuous sequence of

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

s forming the western "backbone" of North America, Central America, South America and the

. Argentina calls the area ''Tierra de San Martín'' (Land of Saint Martin)Антарктический полуостров
an article from

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

. and also calls the northern peninsula (

Trinity Peninsula Trinity Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula. It extends northeastward for about 130 km (80 mi) to Cape Dubouzet from an imaginary line connecting Cape Kater on the north-west coast and Cape Longing on the sou ...

) ''Península Trinidad'' or ''Tierra de la Trinidad''. Similarly, Chile calls the entire Antarctic Peninsula ''Tierra de O'Higgins'' (Land of O'Higgins).

Features

Peaks

Mount Brading Mount Brading () is a mountain topped by a snow peak, east of the northeast corner of Larsen Inlet in Graham Land. It was surveyed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) (1960–61) and named after Christopher G. Brading, a FIDS sur ...

, east of the northeast corner of

Larsen Inlet Larsen Inlet is an inlet, long in a north–south direction and wide, between Cape Longing and Cape Sobral along the east coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. Carl Anton Larsen, a Norwegian whaling captain, reported a large bay in this area in 1893, ...

. * The Downfall, located between the heads of

Arago Glacier Arago Glacier () is a glacier flowing into Andvord Bay just northwest of Moser Glacier, on the west coast of Graham Land. History Arago Glacier was mapped by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey from air photos taken by Hunting Aerosurveys L ...

and

Woodbury Glacier Woodbury Glacier () is a glacier just west of Montgolfier Glacier, flowing into Piccard Cove, Wilhelmina Bay, on the west coast of Graham Land. Mapped by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) from air photos taken by Hunting Aerosurve ...

Plateaus

The interior of Graham Land is occupied by a series of plateaus, namely (north to south)

Laclavère Plateau Laclavère Plateau () is a plateau, long and from wide, rising to between Misty Pass and Theodolite Hill, Trinity Peninsula, Antarctica. The plateau rises south of Schmidt Peninsula and the Chilean scientific station, Base General Bernardo O' ...

Louis Philippe Plateau Louis Philippe Plateau () is a plateau, about long and wide, which rises to and occupies the central part of Trinity Peninsula, Antarctica, between Russell West Glacier and Windy Gap. This application of the name, recommended by the UK Antarcti ...

Detroit Plateau Detroit Plateau () is a major interior plateau of Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula, with heights between . Its northeast limit is marked by the south wall of Russell West Glacier, from which it extends some in a general southwest direction ...

Herbert Plateau Herbert Plateau () is a portion of the central plateau of Graham Land, Antarctica, lying between Blériot Glacier and Drygalski Glacier. It borders Foster Plateau on the south and Detroit Plateau on the north. The feature was photographed by th ...

Foster Plateau Foster Plateau is a plateau, about in area, lying between Drygalski Glacier and Hektoria Glacier in northern Graham Land, Antarctica. It borders Forbidden Plateau on the south and Herbert Plateau on the north. The feature was photographed by the ...

Forbidden Plateau The Forbidden Plateau is a small, hilly plateau in the east of the Vancouver Island Vancouver Island Ranges, Ranges in British Columbia, northwest of Comox Lake roughly between Mount Albert Edward (British Columbia), Mount Albert Edward to the sou ...

, Bruce Plateau,

Avery Plateau Avery Plateau () is an ice-covered plateau, about long and rising to about , midway between Loubet Coast and Foyn Coast in Graham Land, Antarctica. It borders Hemimont Plateau on the south and Bruce Plateau on the north. The first sighting of th ...

and

Hemimont Plateau Hemimont Plateau ( bg, плато Хемимонт, plato Hemimont, ) is the long and narrow ice-covered plateau of elevation about 1600 m in southern Graham Land, Antarctica bordering Avery Plateau on the north. It is situated midway between Lo ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control British Antarctic Territory Lands of Antarctica

Features

Peaks

Plateaus

See also

References

Further reading

External links