Hearst Island
Encyclopedia
Hearst Island is an ice-covered, dome-shaped island
lying 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Cape Rymill
, in the Weddell Sea
, off the eastern coast of Palmer Land
. The island is 58 km (36 mi) long, in a North-South direction, 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, and rises to 365 m (1,198 ft).
It was first sighted on a flight on December 20, 1928 by Sir Hubert Wilkins
. Thinking it was part of the mainland of Antarctica, he named it Hearst Land, for William Randolph Hearst
who helped finance the expedition. It was resighted and its insularity ascertained in 1940 by members of the USAS who explored this coast by land and from the air. They named it Wilkins Island. Examination of aerial photographs have shown, however, that this large island is what Wilkins considered Hearst Land.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
lying 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Cape Rymill
Cape Rymill
Cape Rymill is a steep, metamorphic rock cliff standing opposite the central part of Hearst Island and jutting out from the icecap along the east coast of Palmer Land. Named for John Rymill by members of the East Base of the United States Antarctic Service who charted this coast by land and from...
, in the Weddell Sea
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...
, off the eastern coast of Palmer Land
Palmer Land
Palmer Land is that portion of the Antarctic Peninsula which lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between US-ACAN and UK-APC, in which the name Antarctic Peninsula was approved for the major peninsula of...
. The island is 58 km (36 mi) long, in a North-South direction, 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, and rises to 365 m (1,198 ft).
It was first sighted on a flight on December 20, 1928 by Sir Hubert Wilkins
Hubert Wilkins
Sir Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer.-Early life:...
. Thinking it was part of the mainland of Antarctica, he named it Hearst Land, for William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
who helped finance the expedition. It was resighted and its insularity ascertained in 1940 by members of the USAS who explored this coast by land and from the air. They named it Wilkins Island. Examination of aerial photographs have shown, however, that this large island is what Wilkins considered Hearst Land.
See also
- Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
- List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
- List of Antarctic islands south of 60° S
- SCARScientific Committee on Antarctic ResearchThe Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is an interdisciplinary body of the International Council for Science . It was established in February 1958 to continue the international coordination of Antarctic scientific activities that had begun during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58...
- Territorial claims in Antarctica