Hughes Bay () is a bay lying between
Cape Sterneck and
Cape Murray along the west coast of the
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin 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 Antarctica.
...
.
Location

Hughes Bay is on the
Danco Coast of the
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin 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 Antarctica.
...
, on the west side of
Graham Land
Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee ...
.
It is west of the southern end of the
Detroit Plateau and north of the
Herbert Plateau.
It faces
Two Hummock Island
Two Hummock Island () is an ice-covered island, long in a north–south direction, conspicuous for its two rocky summits high, lying southeast of Liège Island in the Palmer Archipelago.
Location
Two Hummock Island is in the Palmer Archip ...
to the northwest across the
Gerlache Strait
Gerlache Strait or de Gerlache Strait or Détroit de la Belgica is a Channel (geography), channel/strait separating the Palmer Archipelago from the Antarctic Peninsula. The Belgian Antarctic Expedition, under Lt. Adrien de Gerlache, explored the ...
.
Major glaciers flowing into the bay include Sikorsky Glacier, Cayley Glacier and Blériot Glacier.
The Argentine
Base Primavera is on a headland in the north part of the bay.
Hughes Bay is wide and indents the Danco Coast by .
It lies south of the
Chavdar Peninsula and north of the
Pefaur Peninsula.
Name
The name "Hughes Bay" has appeared on maps for over 100 years, and commemorates Edward Hughes, master of the ''Sprightly'', a sealing vessel owned by the
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
whaling company
Samuel Enderby & Sons, which explored in this area in 1824–25.
Exploration
The first recorded landing on the Antarctic mainland was made in the area of this bay by Captain
John Davis (see
Davis Coast
Davis Coast () is that portion of the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula between Cape Kjellman and Cape Sterneck. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names
The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advi ...
) from the shallop ''Cecilia'' (see
Cecilia Island), tender to his ship ''Huron'' (see
Huron Glacier) on 7 February 1821.
The bay was roughly charted by James Hoseason, First Mate in the British sealer ''Sprightly'' (see
Sprightly Island) in December 1824 and was named Hughes' Bay after Captain Edward Hughes, the ship's master
The bay was further charted by the
Belgian Antarctic Expedition
The Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899 was the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region. Led by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery aboard the RV ''Belgica'', it was the first Belgian Antarctic expedition and is considered the fir ...
(BeAE) during 23–25 January 1898.
Air photography of the area by the
Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition
The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) was an aerial survey of the Falkland Islands Dependencies and the Antarctic Peninsula which took place in the 1955–56 and 1956–57 southern summers.
Funded by the Colonial ...
(FIDASE) in 1956-57 led to important changes in topography and outline of the bay, as shown on maps and charts.
Prior to this time many identifications of names in the area were no more than guesses.
Glaciers
Glaciers feeding the bay, from northeast to southwest, include:
Tumba Ice Cap,
Gregory Glacier ,
Breguet Glacier,
Sikorsky Glacier,
Trepetlika Glacier,
Mouillard Glacier,
Lilienthal Glacier,
Cayley Glacier, Blériot Glacier,
Zimzelen Glacier,
Krapets Glacier and
Agalina Glacier.
Blériot Glacier
.
A short, but wide, glacier lying east of Salvesen Cove.
Photographed by the FIDASE in 1956-57, and mapped from these photos by the FIDS.
Named by the UK-APC in 1960 for
Louis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of t ...
(1872-1936), French aviator who in 1907 flew the first full-size powered monoplane and made the first flight across the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
in July 1909.
Farman Nunatak
.
A nunatak, high, rising west of
Mount Morton in Blériot Glacier, on the west coast of Graham Land.
Photographed by the FIDASE in 1956-57, and mapped from these photos by the FIDS.
Named 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) an ...
(UK-APC) in 1960 for
Henry Farman
Henri Farman (26 May 1874 – 17 July 1958) was a British-French aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. Before dedicating himself to aviation he gained fame as a sportsman, specifically in cycling and mo ...
(1874-1958), pioneer Anglo-French aviator and aircraft designer, who carried the first airplane passenger in 1908.
Islands
Island in the bay, from northeast to southwest, include:
Moreno Rock, Moss Islands, Midas Island,
Apéndice Island,
Sprightly Island,
Alcock Island, Roget Rocks, Afuera Islands,
Murray Island,
Challenger Island.
Moss Islands
.
Group of small islands and rocks lying east of Midas Island and north of Apendice Island in Hughes Bay.
First charted in detail and given the descriptive name "Moos Inseln, (Moss Islands) by the SwedAE under Nordenskjold in 1902.
Midas Island
.
Island lying northwest of
Apéndice Island.
First seen by the
Belgian Antarctic Expedition
The Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899 was the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region. Led by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery aboard the RV ''Belgica'', it was the first Belgian Antarctic expedition and is considered the fir ...
(BelgAE) under
Adrien de Gerlache
Baron Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (; 2 August 1866 – 4 December 1934) was a Belgian officer in the Belgian Royal Navy who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–99.
Early years
Born in Hasselt in eastern Belgium as t ...
in 1898 and described as an island with two summits "like the ears of an ass."
The name, given by the UK-APC in 1960, derives from this description;
Midas
Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house.
His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...
, King of Phrygia, was represented in Greek satyric drama with the ears of an ass.
Roget Rocks
.
A small group of rocks southwest of Spring Point in Hughes Bay, Graham Land.
Surveyed by K.V. Blaiklock of FIDS from the Norsel in 1955.
Named by UK-APC for
Peter Mark Roget
Peter Mark Roget ( ; 18 January 1779 – 12 September 1869) was a British physician, natural theologian, Lexicography, lexicographer, and founding secretary of The Portico Library. He is best known for publishing, in 1852, the ''Roget's Thesau ...
, a member of the committee which planned the expedition of the ''Chanticleer'' (1828–31) and author in 1852 of the ''
Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition''.
Afuera Islands
.
Group of three small islands lying north of
Challenger Island and just outside the south entrance point to Hughes Bay.
First charted by the
French Antarctic Expedition
The French Antarctic Expedition is any of several French expeditions in Antarctica.
1837–1840
In 1837, during an 1837–1840 expedition across the deep southern hemisphere, Captain Jules Dumont d'Urville sailed his ship ''Astrolabe'' alo ...
(FrAE), 1908–10, under
Jean-Baptiste Charcot
Jean-Baptiste Étienne Auguste Charcot, better known in France as Commandant Charcot, (15 July 1867 in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris – 16 September 1936 at sea (30 miles north-west of Reykjavik, Iceland), was a French scientist, medical doctor ...
.
The name, which appears on an Argentine government chart of 1957, is probably descriptive of the island's location; "Afuera" means outer or outside.
Coastal features
Coastal features, from northeast to southwest, include
Cape Sterneck,
Cierva Cove,
Sladun Peninsula,
Base Primavera,
Relyovo Peninsula,
Charles Point,
Brialmont Cove,
Spring Point, Brabazon Point, Salvesen Cove, and Valdivia Point.
Brabazon Point
.
Point forming the east side of the entrance to Salvesen Cove.
Charted by the BelgAE under Gerlache, 1897-99.
Named by the UK-APC in 1960 for
John Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara
Lieutenant Colonel John Theodore Cuthbert Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara, , HonFRPS (8 February 1884 – 17 May 1964) was an English aviation pioneer and Conservative politician. He was the first Englishman to pilot a heavier-than- ...
, pioneer British aviator.
He was the first British subject to fly an airplane in the British Isles, in April 1909, and responsible for the
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
Photographic Section during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and for the development of aerial photography.
Salvesen Cove
.
Cove forming the south extremity of Hughes Bay.
The cove was partially outlined on the charts of the BelgAE under Gerlache, 1897-99.
Probably named by whalers operating in this vicinity after
Salvesen and Company, whalers of
Leith
Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith.
The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
, Scotland.
Valdivia Point
.
Point forming the northwest side of the entrance to Salvesen Cove.
Charted and named "Valdivia Insel," after the German ship ''Valdivia'', by the
Swedish Antarctic Expedition
The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 was a scientific expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Background
Otto Nordensk ...
(SwedAE) under
Otto Nordenskjöld
Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer.
Early life
Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in Småland in eastern Sweden, in a family that included his maternal unc ...
, 1901-04.
Air photos taken by the FIDASE in 1956-57 show the feature to be joined to the mainland:
References
Sources
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*
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{{refend
Bays of Graham Land
Danco Coast