Gold Harbour
Encyclopedia
Gold Harbour is a small bay
5 miles (8 km) south-southwest of Cape Charlotte
, with Bertrab Glacier
at its head, along the east end of South Georgia. During the early 1900s, the feature was variously called Anna's Bay, Gold-Hafen or Sandwich Bay; the latter name has also been used for Iris Bay
. The approved name appears to have taken root through common usage by sealers and whalers and is now well established. It is so called because the sun's rays make the cliffs yellow with their light in the morning and evening.
There is no particular historical or geological reason to give Gold Harbour its mineral name, which was in common use among the early sealers. Perhaps they were inspired by the sunsets (see stamp). The Bertram Glacier at Gold Harbour was named by Filchner's 1911-1912 German expedition after General von Bertrab, Chief Quartermaster of the German General Staff.
and gentoos
, and elephant seal
s also breed here, especially at the west end of the beach, where a glacial stream flows. Sooty albatross
es also breed here.
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
5 miles (8 km) south-southwest of Cape Charlotte
Cape Charlotte
Cape Charlotte is a cape that forms the southeast side of the entrance to Royal Bay on the north coast near the eastern end of South Georgia in the Atlantic Ocean. It was discovered in 1775 by a British expedition under Captain James Cook, who named it for Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III...
, with Bertrab Glacier
Bertrab Glacier
Bertrab Glacier is a small glacier at the head of Gold Harbour, at the east end of South Georgia. It was charted by the Second German Antarctic Expedition, 1911–12, under Wilhelm Filchner, and named by him for General von Bertrab, Chief Quartermaster in the German General Staff and Chief of the...
at its head, along the east end of South Georgia. During the early 1900s, the feature was variously called Anna's Bay, Gold-Hafen or Sandwich Bay; the latter name has also been used for Iris Bay
Iris Bay
Iris Bay is a small bay immediately south of Muller Point at the east end of South Georgia, lying 6 miles northwest of Cape Vahsel, along the embayment between Cape Vahsel and Cape Charlotte. The name Sandwich Bay, for John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, was given to the whole embayment between...
. The approved name appears to have taken root through common usage by sealers and whalers and is now well established. It is so called because the sun's rays make the cliffs yellow with their light in the morning and evening.
There is no particular historical or geological reason to give Gold Harbour its mineral name, which was in common use among the early sealers. Perhaps they were inspired by the sunsets (see stamp). The Bertram Glacier at Gold Harbour was named by Filchner's 1911-1912 German expedition after General von Bertrab, Chief Quartermaster of the German General Staff.
Wildlife
The area is a breeding ground for penguins include kingsKing Penguin
The King Penguin is the second largest species of penguin at about , second only to the Emperor Penguin. There are two subspecies—A. p. patagonicus and A. p...
and gentoos
Gentoo penguin
The Gentoo Penguin , Pygoscelis papua, is easily recognized by the wide white stripe extending like a bonnet across the top of its head and its bright orange-red bill. The gentoo penguin has pale whitish-pink webbed feet and a fairly long tail - the most prominent tail of all penguins. Chicks have...
, and elephant seal
Elephant seal
Elephant seals are large, oceangoing seals in the genus Mirounga. There are two species: the northern elephant seal and the southern elephant seal . Both were hunted to the brink of extinction by the end of the 19th century, but numbers have since recovered...
s also breed here, especially at the west end of the beach, where a glacial stream flows. Sooty albatross
Sooty albatross
The sooty albatrosses are small albatrosses from the genus Phoebetria. There are two species, the Sooty Albatross, Phoebetria fusca, and the Light-mantled Albatross, Phoebetria palpebrata...
es also breed here.