Cumberland West Bay facts for kids
Cumberland West Bay is a cool bay located in South Georgia. It's like an arm stretching out from the main Cumberland Bay. This bay is about 2.5 miles (4 km) wide at its entrance and reaches about 7 miles (11 km) southwest. A piece of land called Thatcher Peninsula separates it from Cumberland East Bay.
This bay was first explored by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition between 1901 and 1904. They simply called it "West Bay." Later, from 1926 to 1929, people from the Discovery Investigations (DI) re-mapped the area. They changed the name to "West Cumberland Bay." But people still used the shorter name "West Bay."
After another survey in 1951–52 by the South Georgia Survey, the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee decided to change the name again. They called it "Cumberland West Bay." This new name helps keep all the information about Cumberland Bay organized in maps and records.
Exploring the Bay's Features
Cumberland West Bay has a very interesting coastline with many parts that have been mapped and given names. Let's take a tour, starting from the north on the west side of the bay and moving southwest.
Northwest Coast
The land point at the west entrance of Cumberland Bay is called Larsen Point. It was named after Captain Carl Anton Larsen, who visited the bay in his ship, the Jason, in 1893–94.
A cool spot called The Crutch is a saddle-shaped dip on a ridge. It's about 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) northwest of Larsen Point. Explorers from the DI team mapped it between 1925 and 1929 and gave it this descriptive name. Close by, about 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) north of Larsen Point, is Jason Island, also named after Captain Larsen's ship.
Allen Bay is a half-circle shaped bay, about 0.5 nautical miles (0.9 km) wide. It lies about 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) west-northwest of Larsen Point. The DI team on the ship Discovery mapped it in 1926. They likely named it after H. T. Allen, who was part of the Discovery Committee at that time.
Further southwest along the coast is Jason Harbour, which also has several named spots within it.
After Jason Harbour, you'll find Enten Bay, a shallow bay. The name "Entenbucht," meaning "duck bay" in German, was first used on a 1907 map. This map was made by Dr. A. Szielasko, who was on a Norwegian whaling ship called Fridtjof Nansen. He wrote about the nature he saw in Cumberland Bay the year before.
The east side of Enten Bay is marked by Doubtful Point. A bit southwest, about 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) away, is Tweeny Point. Both of these points were first named on a British Admiralty map in 1929.
Continuing west, there's another small bay called Carlita Bay. It was first known as Horseshoe Bay, probably named during a survey by HMS Dartmouth in 1920. However, that name was later used for a different bay nearby. So, in 1957, the UKAPC renamed it Carlita Bay. This new name honors the Carlita, a whale catcher ship from 1907 owned by the Compañía Argentina de Pesca. Islet Point marks the east entrance to Carlita Bay. It was named on the 1929 Admiralty map because of a small island just off the point.
Southeast Coast
At the southwest end of Cumberland West Bay is Mercer Bay. This small bay has the Geikie Glacier at its very end. Mercer Bay appeared on a map by Lieutenant S. A. Duse of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition. It was first officially named on a map based on surveys by the DI team from 1926–30. It was probably named after Lieutenant Commander G. M. Mercer, who was the captain of the DI research ship William Scoresby.
To the east, Teie Point separates Mercer Bay from Harpon Bay. Teie Point was named by the UK-APC after the sailing ship Teie, owned by Tonsberg Hvalfangeri. East of Teie Point is Harpon Bay, about 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) wide. It was first mapped by the SAE and named by the UK-APC after the cargo ship Harpon, built in 1897. This ship was used by the Compañía Argentina de Pesca.
See also
In Spanish: Bahía Cumberland Oeste para niños
