Ioannes-Paulus-II-Peninsula-location-map

Half Moon Beach is a small crescent-shaped beach lying south-east of

Scarborough Castle Scarborough Castle is a former Medieval Period, medieval royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The site of the castle, encompassing the Ir ...

on the north coast of

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetland Islands, South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands north of the ...

, in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. The beach lies at the western extremity of Porlier Bay in the north of Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula.

History

The descriptive name was recorded by Robert Fildes, who had

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 1800 ...

working here in 1820–21 and 1821–22. Wreckage of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

ship ''

San Telmo San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'' (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis, it hosts some of its oldest buildings. One of the birthplace ...

'' that sank off the island in 1819 was subsequently found on the beach.

Historic site

A cairn at the beach, along with a

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate, usually fixed to a wall or other vertical surface, meant to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military p ...

on ‘Cerro Gaviota’ opposite

San Telmo Island San Telmo Island (a.k.a. Telmo Island) is an island forming the west side of Shirreff Cove on the north-west coast of Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It has a surface area of .L.L. ...

, commemorates the officers, soldiers and seamen aboard the ''San Telmo'', who were possibly the first people to live and die in Antarctica. It has been designated a Historic Site or Monument ''San Telmo Cairn'' (HSM 59), following a proposal by Chile, Spain and Peru to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

Maps

* L.L. Ivanov et al. Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands. Scale 1:100000 topographic map. Sofia: Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria, 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. )

References

SCAR Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
Cliffs surrounding and the entrance to Half Moon Beac

Beaches of Livingston Island Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica Spain and the Antarctic {{LivingstonIsland-geo-stub