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Port Foster is one of the safest harbours in
The centre of Deception Island is a
Port Foster is one of the safest harbours in 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 cont ...
, located in Deception Island
Deception Island is an island in the South Shetland Islands close to the Antarctic Peninsula with a large and usually "safe" natural harbor, which is occasionally troubled by the underlying active volcano. This island is the caldera of an acti ...
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 ...
.
History
The harbour was known to sealers as early as 1820, and in its early history was called ''Port Williams'', after Captain William Smith's brig, ''Williams''; or ''Yankee Harbor'', because of the number of American sealers who harboured there. The port, briefly called Yankee Harbour and Port Dunbar, was named Port Foster after Henry Foster, captain of and leader of the first scientific expedition to the island in Jan.-March 1829. The expedition, based in Pendulum Cove, made gravitational and magnetic measurements, produced the firsttopographic map
In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...
, made temperature measurements, and made a hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/ offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...
.
Former names for the port have remained for other features in the same archipelago — Williams Point and Yankee Harbor.
Description
The centre of Deception Island is a caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
, formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption and later flooded. This has created the basin-like harbour of Port Foster. The entrance to Port Foster is only wide and is named Neptune's Bellows.
The benthic zone of Port Foster is of great ecological
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
interest due to the natural disturbance induced by the volcanic activity. Two areas have been collectively protected as Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No.145.
See also
*Stancomb Cove
Stancomb Cove () is a cove northeast of Cross Hill in the northwest part of Port Foster, Deception Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The feature was formed as the result of volcanic eruptions on the island
An island (or isle) is an is ...
*Stanley Patch
Stanley Patch () is a shoal lying in Port Foster, 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) west-northwest of Fildes Point, Deception Island, in the South Shetland Islands. Named after Stanley, Falkland Islands, by Lieutenant Commander D.N. Penfold, Royal Na ...
*Wensleydale Beacon
Wensleydale Beacon () is a hill, 110 m, situated just north of Fumarole Bay, on the west side of Port Foster, Deception Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The hill was charted by a British expedition 1828–31, under Foster. Named by Lieut ...
References
Geography of Deception Island Antarctic Specially Protected Areas Bodies of water of the South Shetland Islands Ports and harbours of the South Shetland Islands {{DeceptionIsland-geo-stub