Tabarin Peninsula

The Tabarin Peninsula (-63.53333°N, -57°W) is a peninsula 15 nmi long and 5 to 12 nmi wide, lying south of the trough between Hope Bay and Duse Bay and forming the east extremity of Trinity Peninsula in the Antarctic Peninsula.

Location
Tabarin Peninsula' lies in Graham Land and forms the east tip of Trinity Peninsula, which is itself the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The peninsula extends in a southeast direction from the tip of Trinity Peninsula. It is separated by Antarctic Sound from the Joinville Island group to the east. It is northwest of the Erebus and Terror Gulf, and northeast of James Ross Island. Argentina's Esperanza Base is at the northeast end of the peninsula, beside Uruguay's ECARE base, named for Ruperto Elichiribehety.

The Tabarin Peninsula extends southwards into the Weddell Sea for about 25 km. It is connected to the mainland by an isthmus about 12 km wide which lies between Hope Bay to the north and Duse Bay to the south. The average height of the peninsular is about 250 m and the highest point, at around 1000 m, is Mount Taylor which lies just north of the isthmus.

Discovery and name
The Tabarin Peninsula was discovered and charted by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (SwedAE), 1901–1904, led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was mapped in 1946 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and named after Operation Tabarin, the naval code name for the FIDS from 1943 to 1945.

Geology
Recently, more of the ground surface of the peninsula has become exposed by the melting of ice, and its geological structure is becoming clearer. Near Trepassey Bay there is a 60 m bed of steeply-dipping quartz-rich sandstones and mudstones which are probably part of the Hope Bay Formation dating to the Permian-Triassic. Dioritic rocks in this area are probably part of the early Cretaceous Antarctic Peninsula batholith. Rocks exposed above Duse Bay are Mesozoic marine sediments dipping gently to the southeast, and consisting of 60% coarse-grained conglomerates, 30% mudstones and 10% sandstones.

Flora and fauna
The crumbling cliffs of Brown Bluff tower over Trepassey Bay, causing rock falls and scree slopes, and some wind-eroded boulders fall to the beach below. There are a few lichens on boulders at the top of the beach and some mosses grow higher up the slope, but no vascular plants grow here. Weddell seals often haul out on the beach and leopard seals hunt offshore. This is a breeding site for gentoo and Adélie penguins, Cape petrels, snow petrels, skuas and kelp gulls. Other birds that probably breed here include the southern giant petrel, the southern fulmar and Wilson's storm petrel.

Depot Glacier
-63.41667°N, -57.05°W. A well-defined valley glacier, flanked by lateral moraines, which terminates in a high vertical ice cliff at the head of Hope Bay, in the northeast end of the Antarctic Peninsula. Discovered by the SwedAE, 1901-04, under Otto Nordenskjöld, and so named by him because, as seen from Antarctic Sound, it appeared to be a possible site for a depot.

Kenney Glacier
-63.41667°N, -57.03333°W. A glacier 1 nmi long flowing northwest from The Pyramid and The Saddlestone into Depot Glacier, near the head of Hope Bay. Mapped in 1945 and 1948 by the FIDS. Resurveyed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1955 and named for Richard R. Kenney, assistant surveyor at Hope Bay in 1954 and 1955, who made a detailed local survey of the area between Hope and Duse Bays.

Coastal features
Coastal features, clockwise from the northeast, include:

Hope Bay


-63.38333°N, -57°W. A bay 3 nmi long and 2 nmi wide, indenting the tip of Antarctic Peninsula and opening on Antarctic Sound. Discovered on January 15, 1902, by the SwedAE under Otto Nordenskjöld, who named it in commemoration of the winter spent there by J. Gunnar Andersson, S.A. Duse, and Toralf Grunden of his expedition.

Trepassey Bay
-63.46667°N, -56.96667°W. A bay 0.8 nmi wide, lying on the east side of Tabarin Peninsula 3.5 nmi southeast  of Hope Bay. First surveyed by the FIDS and by E. Burden, Master of the Trepassey, from that vessel in 1947. Resurveyed in 1955 by the FIDS. Named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for the Trepassey, which was chartered by the FIDS in 1945-46 and 1946-47. The vessel was used for the relief of the station at Hope Bay in both seasons and for a survey of Antarctic Sound during the second one.

Fridtjof Sound
-63.56667°N, -56.71667°W. A sound, 6 nmi long in a north–south direction and 2 nmi wide, which separates Andersson Island and Jonassen Island from the Tabarin Peninsula. Discovered by the SwedAE, 1901-04, under Otto Nordenskjöld, and named after the Fridtjof, a vessel dispatched from Sweden to search for the SwedAE when it was feared lost in 1903.

Cape Green
-63.66667°N, -56.83333°W. Low ice cliff forming the southeast extremity of Tabarin Peninsula. Charted by the FIDS in 1946 and named for Michael C. Green, FIDS geologist who lost his life when the base hut at Hope Bay burned in November 1948.

Cape Burd
-63.65°N, -57.15°W. Low rock cliff forming the southwest extremity of Tabarin Peninsula. Charted by the FIDS in 1946 and named for Oliver Burd, FIDS meteorologist who lost his life when the base hut at Hope Bay burned in November 1948.

Seven Buttresses
-63.6°N, -57.16667°W. A series of seven rock buttresses, 150 m high high, which are separated by narrow icefalls and extend for 4 nmi along the west side of Tabarin Peninsula. Probably first sighted by a party under J. Gunnar Andersson of the SwedAE, 1901-04. The Seven Buttresses were surveyed and named by the FIDS, 1946.

Peaks and passes
Mountain peaks, ridges and passes include, from north to south:

Mount Carroll
-63.43333°N, -57.05°W. A horseshoe-shaped mountain rising to 650 m high, south of Hope Bay. Discovered and mapped by the SwedAE, 1901-04. Surveyed by FIDS, 1945-47, and named in error "Mount Carrel" after Tom Carroll (b. 1864), Newfoundland boatswain of the ship Eagle, which participated in establishing the FIDS Hope Bay base in February 1945. The spelling has been amended to correct the original error.

The Steeple
-63.43333°N, -57.05°W. A rocky ridge, about 500 m high, forming the northwest arm of horseshoe-shaped Mount Carroll. It rises on the east side of Depot Glacier, 1.5 nmi south of the head of Hope Bay. Discovered by the SwedAE, 1901-04, under Otto Nordenskjöld. The descriptive name was applied by the FIDS, 1945.

Dimaryp Peak
-63.43333°N, -57.03333°W. The prominent northeastern peak of Mount Carroll, rising to 500 m high, 1 nmi southof the head of Hope Bay. First charted by the SwedAE under Otto Nordenskjöld, 1901-04. Surveyed in 1945 and 1955 by FIDS, who applied the name. This peak is very similar to and has been frequently misidentified in bad weather as The Pyramid, a peak 0.8 mi to the east. The name is an anagram of pyramid.

The Saddlestone
-63.43333°N, -57.03333°W. A small nunatak, 380 m high, standing between Mount Carroll and The Pyramid, in the north part of Tabarin Peninsula. It rises 45 m high above the ice sheet at the head of Kenney Glacier. Surveyed in 1955 by FIDS, who applied the descriptive name; saddlestone is an architectural term for the stone at the apex of a pediment or gable.

The Pyramid
-63.43333°N, -57.01667°W. A pyramidal nunatak, 565 m high, standing 1 nmi east of Mount Carroll and 1.5 nmi southeast  of the head of Hope Bay. Discovered and named by a party under J. Gunnar Andersson of the SwedAE, 1901-04.

Summit Pass
-63.45°N, -57.03333°W. A col 345 m high between Passes Peak and Summit Ridge, situated 2.5 nmi south of the head of Hope Bay and 3.5 nmi northeast of Duse Bay. This area was first explored by the SwedAE, 1901-04. Summit Pass was first charted and named by the FIDS, 1945. It is the highest point on the sledge route between Hope Bay and Duse Bay.

Summit Ridge
-63.45°N, -57.03333°W. A ridge, 380 m high, with a steep ice slope on the north side and a rock cliff on the south side. It extends eastward from Passes Peak for 0.5 nmi and is located 2 nmi south of the head of Hope Bay. This area was first explored by the SwedAE, 1901-04. Summit Ridge was first charted and named by the FIDS, 1945. The feature takes its name from nearby Summit Pass.

Passes Peak
-63.45°N, -57.05°W. A pyramidal peak, 535 m high, standing next south of Mount Carroll and 2 nmi south of the head of Hope Bay. First charted in 1945 by the FIDS, and so named because it lies between two passes used by Hope Bay sledging parties in traveling to Duse Bay and to the head of Depot Glacier.

Last Hill
-63.46667°N, -57.08333°W. A small hill, 350 m high, with a rock ridge at its crest and a cliff at its north side, standing 4 nmi south-southwest of Hope Bay and 2 nmi east of the northeast  shore of Duse Bay on Tabarin Peninsula. Probably seen by the SwedAE, 1901-04, under Otto Nordenskjöld. First charted in 1946 by the FIDS, who so named it because it marks the last climb on the sledge route between Hope Bay and Duse Bay.

Fivemile Rock
-63.48333°N, -57.05°W. A small nunatak, 375 m high, rising just northwest of Mineral Hill. Mapped in 1946 and again in 1956 by the FIDS, and so named because the feature is located 5 miles from their station at Hope Bay on the route from there to Duse Bay.

Mineral Hill
-63.48333°N, -57.05°W. A round-topped hill, 445 m high, with ice-free, talus-covered slopes, standing 1.5 nmi west of Trepassey Bay. Probably first seen by the SwedAE under Otto Nordenskjöld, 1901-04. First charted by the FIDS in 1946, who so named it because small quantities of reddish mineral in the rock gave the surfaces a conspicuous color.

Cairn Hill
-63.5°N, -57.06667°W. A hill with two summits, the higher 475 m high, standing 2 nmi east of Duse Bay and 1 nmi southwest of Mineral Hill. First charted by the FIDS in 1946, who so named it because a cairn was erected on the eastern of the two summits.

Ridge Peak
-63.5°N, -57.05°W. A pyramidal rocky peak, 510 m high, from which a prominent ridge extends eastward, standing 2.5 nmi southwest of Trepassey Bay between Cairn Hill and Lizard Hill. This area was first explored by a party of the SwedAE, 1901-04. Ridge Peak was charted and named by the FIDS, 1946.

Lizard Hill
-63.51667°N, -57.01667°W. A narrow, curving rock ridge, 355 m high, standing 2 nmi southwest of Trepassey Bay and 0.5 nmi east of Ridge Peak. Probably first seen by the SwedAE, 1901-04, under Otto Nordenskjöld. First charted in 1946 by the FIDS, who applied the descriptive name.

Brown Bluff


-63.53333°N, -56.91667°W. An ice-capped, flat-topped mountain, 745 m high, with a prominent cliff of reddish-brown volcanic rock on the north face, 9 nmi south of Hope Bay on the east side of Tabarin Peninsula. The descriptive name was applied by the FIDS following their survey in 1946.

Gamma Hill
-63.56667°N, -56.78333°W. A distinctive ice-covered hill rising more than 300 m high on the shore of Fridtjof Sound. The name arises from the intensive geophysical work carried out in this part of Tabarin Peninsula by FIDS in 1959-60.

Buttress Hill
-63.56667°N, -57.05°W. A flat-topped hill, 690 m high, with steep rock cliffs on the west side, standing 2 nmi east of the most northern of the Seven Buttresses. Charted in 1946 by the FIDS and so named because of its proximity to the Seven Buttresses.

Cone Nunatak
-63.6°N, -57.03333°W. A nunatak, 350 m high, which appears conical on its north side but has brown rock cliffs on its south face, lying 3 nmi south-southeast of Buttress Hill. The descriptive name was applied by the FIDS following their survey of the area in 1946.