Maxwell Bay, also called Fildes Bay (in Chile) and Guardia Nacional Bay (in Argentina) is a bay long, lying between King George Island and Nelson Island, in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

of Antarctica. The main entrance to the bay is at the south-east side and is wide open;

Fildes Strait Fildes Strait is a strait which extends in a general east-west direction between King George Island and Nelson Island, in the South Shetland Islands. This strait has been known to sealers in the area since about 1822, but at that time it appeared ...

on the north-west side is encumbered by rocks and is only navigable by boats. The name "Maxwells Straits" was given to this bay and to Fildes Strait by British sealing captain

James Weddell James Weddell (24 August 1787 – 9 September 1834) was a British sailor, navigator and seal hunter who in February 1823 sailed to latitude of 74° 15′ S—a record 7.69 degrees or 532 statute miles south of the Antarc ...

in 1822–24, for Lieutenant Francis Maxwell who had served with Weddell in 1813–14. The name was altered and limited to the feature here described 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 1960.

Historic site

A brass

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pl ...

bearing the

Polish Eagle The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background. In Poland, the coat of arms as a whole is referred to as ''godło'' both in official documents and colloquial speech, despite the fact that ...

, the dates 1975 and 1976, and an inscription in Polish, English and Russian, is mounted on a cliff on King George Island facing the bay. The text of the inscription reads:

In memory of the landing of members of the first Polish Antarctic marine research expedition on the vessels ''Profesor Siedlecki'' and ''Tazar'' in February 1976.

It has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 50), following a proposal by Poland to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

References

Bays of King George Island (South Shetland Islands) Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica {{KingGeorgeIslandAQ-geo-stub