Ronalds Point is the rocky point on the north coast of
Elephant Island
Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
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 195 ...
,
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 ...
situated just east of the
terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
of
Snellius Glacier
Snellius Glacier ( bg, ледник Снелий, lednik Snellius, ) is the glacier extending 7 km in west–east direction and 3 km in south–north direction on the north coast of Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarc ...
. The area was visited by early 19th century
sealers Sealer may refer either to a person or ship engaged in seal hunting, or to a sealant; associated terms include:
Seal hunting
* Sealer Hill, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica
* Sealers' Oven, bread oven of mud and stone built by sealers around 180 ...
.
[A. Gurney. ''Below the Convergence: Voyages Toward Antarctica, 1699-1839.'' New York: Penguin Books, 1998. 315 pp.]
The feature is named after
Francis Ronalds
Sir Francis Ronalds FRS (21 February 17888 August 1873) was an English scientist and inventor, and arguably the first electrical engineer. He was knighted for creating the first working electric telegraph over a substantial distance. In 1816 ...
(1788-1873), a British scientist and inventor who modified the
octant to create the
surveying sector; in association with other names in the area deriving from the early development or use of
geodetic
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
instruments and methods.
Location
Ronalds Point is located at ,
[Bulgarian Antarctic Gazetteer.]
Antarctic Place-names Commission which is 22.4 km east-southeast of
Cape Yelcho
Cape Yelcho is the northwestern extremity of Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It was named by the UK Joint Services Expedition, 1970–71,Cape Valentine
Cape Valentine is a cape on the northeast side of Gurkovska Cove forming the northeast extremity of Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situate ...
. British mapping of the area in 1822,1972 and 2009.
Maps
Chart of South Shetland including Coronation Island, &c.from the exploration of the sloop Dove in the years 1821 and 1822 by George Powell Commander of the same. Scale ca. 1:200000. London: Laurie, 1822.
Elephant Island: From a survey by the Joint Services Expedition, December 1970.Scale 1:132000 topographic map. Royal Geographical Society (UK), 1972.
British Antarctic Territory.Scale 1:200000 topographic map. DOS 610 Series, Sheet W 61 54. Directorate of Overseas Surveys, Tolworth, UK, 1972.
South Shetland Islands: Elephant, Clarence and Gibbs Islands.Scale 1:220000 topographic map. UK Antarctic Place-names Committee, 2009.
Antarctic Digital Database (ADD).Scale 1:250000 topographic map of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Since 1993, regularly upgraded and updated.
Notes
References
Bulgarian Antarctic Gazetteer.Antarctic Place-names Commission
The Antarctic Place-names Commission was established by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute in 1994, and since 2001 has been a body affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.
The Commission approves Bulgarian place names in ...
. (details in Bulgarian
basic datain English)
External links
Ronalds Point.Adjusted Copernix satellite image
Headlands of the South Shetland Islands
Elephant Island
Bulgaria and the Antarctic
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