Cheal Point is a rocky headland east-south-east of

Return Point Return Point is a rocky slope forming the south-west extremity of Coronation Island, in the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. It lies 2 km west-north-west of Cheal Point. History The point was discovered on 7 December 1821 by Captain G ...

, the south-western extremity of

Coronation Island Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, long and from wide. The island extends in a general east–west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest rising to . History T ...

, in the

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula 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 co ...

History

The headland was first surveyed in 1933 by DI personnel, and 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) and ...

for Joseph J. Cheal of the

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

, general assistant in 1950 and leader in 1951 at the

Signy Island Signy Island is a small subantarctic island in the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. It was named by the Norwegian whaler Petter Sørlle (1884–1933) after his wife, Signy Therese. The island is about long and wide and rises to above s ...

base. It marks the western limit of Cheal's survey triangulation made in July–September 1950.

Important Bird Area

A 194 ha tract of land, including both Cheal Point and

, has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports a large breeding colony of about 38,000 pairs of chinstrap penguins which nest on places which are free of ice cover.

References

Headlands of the South Orkney Islands Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Penguin colonies {{SouthOrkneys-geo-stub