Cape Shirreff is a prominent cape at the north end of the rocky peninsula which separates
Hero Bay
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...
and
Barclay Bay
Barclay Bay () is a bay in Drake Passage between Cape Shirreff and Essex Point on the north side of Livingston Island, in the South Shetland Islands. Its head is fed by Etar Snowfield. The name appears on an 1825 chart of the British sealing e ...
on the north coast of
Livingston Island
Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...
, 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 ...
of
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 ...
. The cape was named by
Edward Bransfield
Edward Bransfield (c. 1785 – 31 October 1852) was an Irish sailor who became an officer in the British Royal Navy, serving as a master on several ships, after being impressed into service in Ireland at the age of 18. He is noted for his par ...
in 1820 after Captain
William H. Shirreff, the British commanding officer in the Pacific at that time.
The seasonal scientific field station
Doctor Guillermo Mann Base has been operated by
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
since 1991 and the
by the
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
since 1996.
Description
Situated on a small, ice-free peninsula forming the northern extremity of
Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula
Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula ( bg, Полуостров Йоан Павел II, Poluostrov Yoan Pavel II, ) is an ice-covered peninsula on the north coast of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica that is bounded by Hero Bay t ...
, which is protected by the
and requires a permit to enter. It is 24 km north-east of
Essex Point
Essex Point is a point at the northwest end of Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It forms the west side of the entrance to Barclay Bay and the northeast side of the entrance to Svishtov Cove, and is su ...
, 34 km west-south-west of
Williams Point
Williams Point is the point forming both the north extremity of Varna Peninsula and the northeast tip of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Separated from Zed Islands to the north by Iglika Passage.
The discovery of ...
and 21 km north-west of
Siddins Point
Siddins Point () is a point projecting into the middle of the head of Hero Bay on the north coast of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee
The UK Antarctic Plac ...
. Lying also 809 km south-south-east of
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
, Cape Shirreff is the locality in the
Antarctic Treaty
russian: link=no, Договор об Антарктике es, link=no, Tratado Antártico
, name = Antarctic Treaty System
, image = Flag of the Antarctic Treaty.svgborder
, image_width = 180px
, caption ...
area that is closest to a non-Antarctic territory.
[British mapping in 1920, 1922, 1931 and 1968, American in 1821, Spanish in 1861, Argentine in 1953, 1957 and 1980, Chilean in 1971 and detailed mapping in 2004. Bulgarian mapping in 2005, 2009 and 2017]
Fauna
The cape 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 up to about 10,000 pairs of
chinstrap penguins. Other birds nesting at the site in smaller numbers include
gentoo penguin
The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The ear ...
s,
kelp gull
The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, part ...
s,
brown skua
The brown skua (''Stercorarius antarcticus''), also known as the Antarctic skua, subantarctic skua, southern great skua, southern skua, or hākoakoa (Māori), is a large seabird that breeds in the subantarctic and Antarctic zones and moves furthe ...
s,
snowy sheathbill
The snowy sheathbill (''Chionis albus''), also known as the greater sheathbill, pale-faced sheathbill, and paddy, is one of two species of sheathbill. It is usually found on the ground. It is the only land bird native to the Antarctic continent.
...
s,
Antarctic tern
The Antarctic tern (''Sterna vittata'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. It ranges throughout the southern oceans and is found on small islands around Antarctica as well as on the shores of the mainland. Its diet consists primarily of small fis ...
s,
imperial shag
The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (''Leucocarbo atriceps'') is a black and white cormorant native to southern South America, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including ...
s,
Wilson's and
black-bellied storm petrel
The black-bellied storm petrel (''Fregetta tropica'') is a species of seabird in the family Oceanitidae.
It is found in Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Bouvet Island, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, French Polynesia, French Southern Terri ...
s, and
Cape petrels. The site also contains the largest number of breeding
Antarctic fur seal
The Antarctic fur seal (''Arctocephalus gazella''), is one of eight seals in the genus ''Arctocephalus'', and one of nine fur seals in the subfamily Arctocephalinae. Despite what its name suggests, the Antarctic fur seal is mostly distributed i ...
s in the Antarctic Peninsula region.
Antarctic Specially Protected Area
The cape, with nearby
San Telmo Island, has also been designated an
Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA 149) for the diversity of its plant and animal life, especially its penguin and fur seal breeding colonies.
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.
South Shetland Islands.Scale 1:200000 topographic map. DOS 610 Sheet W 62 60. Tolworth, UK, 1968.
* Isla Elefante a Isla Trinidad. Mapa hidrográfico a escala 1:500000 - 1:350000. Valparaíso: Instituto Hidrográfico de la Armada de Chile, 1971.
* Islas Shetland del Sur de Isla 25 de Mayo a Isla Livingston. Mapa hidrográfico a escala 1:200000. Buenos Aires: Servicio de Hidrografía Naval de la Armada, 1980.
* Islas Livingston y Decepción. Mapa topográfico a escala 1:100000. Madrid: Servicio Geográfico del Ejército, 1991.
* S. Soccol, D. Gildea and J. Bath
Livingston Island, Antarctica.Scale 1:100000 satellite map. The Omega Foundation, USA, 2004.
* L.L. Ivanov et al.,
Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands (from English Strait to Morton Strait, with illustrations and ice-cover distribution), 1:100000 scale topographic map,
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 ...
of Bulgaria, Sofia, 2005
* L.L. Ivanov.
Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islands. Scale 1:120000 topographic map. Troyan: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2010. (First edition 2009. )
Antarctic Digital Database (ADD).Scale 1:250000 topographic map of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Since 1993, regularly upgraded and updated.
* L.L. Ivanov.
Antarctica: Livingston Island and Smith Island. Scale 1:100000 topographic map. Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2017.
See also
*
*
Doctor Guillermo Mann Base
Notes
References
Cape Shirreff.SCAR
Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about t ...
*
{{coord, 62, 27, 32, S, 60, 47, 19, W, display=title
Shirreff, Cape
Antarctic Specially Protected Areas
Important Bird Areas of Antarctica
Seabird colonies
Penguin colonies