Buchanan Point is a headland north-west of Cape Dundas and south-east of Mackintosh Cove, at the north-eastern end of

Laurie Island Laurie Island is the second largest of the South Orkney Islands. The island is claimed by both Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica, and the United Kingdom as part of the British Antarctic Territory. However, under the Antarctic Treaty ...

in the South Orkney Islands of

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

Etymology

In 1903 the

Scottish National Antarctic Expedition The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE), 1902–1904, was organised and led by William Speirs Bruce, a natural scientist and former medical student from the University of Edinburgh. Although overshadowed in terms of prestige by Rob ...

under

William Speirs Bruce William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a British naturalist, polar scientist and oceanographer who organized and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE, 1902–04) to the South Orkney Islands and the Wedd ...

applied the name "Cape Buchanan", after J.Y. Buchanan, a member of the

Challenger Expedition The ''Challenger'' expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific program that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, . The expedition, initiated by Wi ...

of 1872–76, to the prominent cape north-westward, which had been named "Cape Valavielle" in 1838 by a French expedition under Captain

Jules Dumont d'Urville Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (; 23 May 1790 – 8 May 1842) was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. As a botanist and cartographer, he gave his nam ...

. At the same time, the French name (in English form but misspelled "Cape Vallavielle") was transferred to the point now described. The name Cape Valavielle has been retained for the prominent cape, as applied by d'Urville, on the basis of priority and wide usage. For the sake of historical continuity, the

UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) and ...

in 1954 recommended that the name Buchanan Point be applied to the point now described.

Important Bird Area

The site has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of about 10,000 pairs of chinstrap penguins.

References

Laurie Island Headlands of the South Orkney Islands Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Penguin colonies {{SouthOrkneys-geo-stub