Gilchrist Beach () is a rocky

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

, 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) long, lying west of

Compton Glacier Compton Glacier is a glacier, long, flowing northeast from the lower slopes of the Big Ben massif to the northeast side of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Its terminus is located at Compton Lagoon, between Gilchrist Beach and Fairchi ...

on the north side of

Heard Island The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size ...

. At its eastern edge, Gilchrist Beach communicates with the sandy

Fairchild Beach Fairchild Beach () is a sandy beach, wide and long, which extends north from the base of Round Hill to the south side of the terminus of Compton Glacier, on the east side of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. The beach faces Compton Lag ...

. Travelling eastwards from Gilchrist Beach to Fairchild Beach, one arrives at the base of Round Hill. This feature was known to

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sealers Sealer may refer either to a person or ship engaged in seal hunting, or to a sealant; associated terms include: Seal hunting * Sealer Hill, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica * Sealers' Oven, bread oven of mud and stone built by sealers around 18 ...

as Rocky Beach as early as 1857, as shown by an unpublished sealer's map of "

Hurds Island The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall si ...

" compiled during the 1860–1870 period. The name Stoney Beach was also in use during this period. The name Gilchrist Beach, as applied by the ANARE ( Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) during its 1948 survey of the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, is now established in usage. Dr. Alan R. Gilchrist served as medical officer with the ANARE party.

References

Beaches of Antarctica {{Subantarctic-geo-stub