Stefansson Strait () is an ice-filled strait 35 nautical miles (60 km) long and 3 to 10 nautical miles (18 km) wide, between the east coast of
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 ...
, there called ''Wilkins Coast'', and
Hearst Island
Hearst Island is an ice-covered, dome-shaped island lying east of Cape Rymill, in the Weddell Sea, off the eastern coast of Palmer Land. The island is long, in a north–south direction, wide, and rises to .
It was first sighted on a flight ...
. This strait was first sighted by
Sir Hubert Wilkins
Sir George Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar (31 October 188830 November 1958), commonly referred to as Captain Wilkins, was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer. He was awarded the Military Cross afte ...
at the south end of his flight of December 20, 1928, and was named by him for
Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada.
Early life
Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. His parents had ...
. He believed it to be a strait cutting off what is now known to be
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 ...
from the main land mass of Antarctica. The true orientation of the strait was determined by members of the
United States Antarctic Service
The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...
(USAS) who charted this coast by land and from the air in 1940.
Straits of Antarctica
Bodies of water of Palmer Land
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