Nelson Rock is an uninhabited

solitary Solitary is the state of being alone or in solitude. The term may refer to: * shortened form of solitary confinement * Solitary animal, an animal that does not live with others in its species * Solitary but social, a type of social organization in ...

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, being essentially a dark

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

which is partly

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

-covered and lies north of

Williams Rocks The Williams Rocks are a group of islands, being essentially rocks located north of Flat Islands and Holme Bay, off the coast of Mac. Robertson Land. The Williams Rocks were mapped by Robert G. Dovers of the ANARE in 1954. The Williams Rocks w ...

, off the coast of Mac Robertson Land in

Holme Bay Holme Bay is a bay in Antarctica in Mac. Robertson Land, wide, containing many islands, indenting the coast north of the Framnes Mountains. Holme Bay is largely snow-free and was mapped by Norwegian cartographers from aerial photographs taken by ...

. The Rock was mapped by

Robert G. Dovers Robert G. Dovers was an Australian explorer and cartographer, born in 1922. He was known to be in the ANARE ( Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) party in the 1950s. He mapped Nelson Rock in 1954. Dovers led an ANARE expedition ...

of the

Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE ) is the historical name for the Australian Antarctic Program (AAp) administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). History Australia has had a long involv ...

(ANARE) in 1954. Nelson Rock was named by the

Antarctic Names Committee of Australia The Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee (AANMC) was established to advise the Government on names for features in the Australian Antarctic Territory and the subantarctic territory of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands. The committee ...

(ANCA) for Robert Edward Kelvin Nelson, a weather observer at

Mawson Station The Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Austra ...

in 1962, who assisted with the

triangulation In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...

of Nelson Rock and the erection of a

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

References

{{usgs-gazetteer, id=1058 Islands of Mac. Robertson Land

See also

References