Ob' Bay () is a bay lying between Lunik Point and Cape Williams in

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

. Lillie Glacier Tongue occupies the east part of the bay. The bay was charted by the

Soviet Antarctic Expedition The Soviet Antarctic Expedition (SAE or SovAE) (, ''Sovetskaya antarkticheskaya ekspeditsiya'') was part of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of the Soviet Committee on Antarctic Research of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. It was ...

(1958) and named after the expedition ship ''Ob''.

Location

Ob' Bay is on the Pacific Ocean to the east of the

Explorers Range Explorers Range () is a large mountain range in the Bowers Mountains of Victoria Land, Antarctica, extending from Mount Bruce in the north to Carryer Glacier and McLin Glacier in the south. Exploration and naming The Explorers Range was named ...

of the

Bowers Mountains Bowers Mountains () is a group of north–south trending mountains in Antarctica, about long and wide, bounded by the coast on the north and by the Rennick Glacier, Canham Glacier, Black Glacier and Lillie Glacier in other quadrants. They are we ...

. It is northwest of the

Anare Mountains The Anare Mountains () are a large group of mainly snow-covered peaks and ridges along the northern coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. The group is bounded on the north and east by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by Lillie Glacier, and on the sou ...

The bay stretches between Lunik Point below Mount Dergach in the west and Cape Williams in the east. Astapenko Glacier enters the bay to the south of Mount Dergach, and is joined at its point of entry by Chugunov Glacier and Astakhov Glacier to the east. Further east, past Platypus Ridge,

Lillie Glacier Lillie Glacier () is a large glacier in Antarctica, about long and wide. It lies between the Bowers Mountains on the west and the Concord Mountains and Anare Mountains on the east, flowing to Ob' Bay on the coast and forming the Lillie Glacier T ...

enters the bay, with Lillie Glacier Tongue extending into the bay. The Sputnik Islands are in the entrance to the bay. ''Sailing Directions for Antarctica'' (1943) says "Lillie Glacier Tongue extends northward from snow-covered rounded hills between Cape Cheetham and Williams Head for a distance of about 20 miles, and is about high. A sounding of has been plotted about 4 miles northward of the Tongue. Many grounded icebergs and unbroken fast ice fringe the shore, and a strong northwestward current sets along the coast."

Features

Named features, from west to east, include:

Barber Glacier

. A glacier rising just east of Mount Bruce in the

and flowing north to the coast between Stuhlinger Ice Piedmont and Rosenau Head. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960–65. Named by US-ACAN for Capt. Don W. Barber, CE, USA, construction and equipment officer, U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, 1967 and 1968.

Lunik Point

. An ice-covered coastal point, lying northeast of Mount Dergach on the west side of Ob' Bay. Photographed and plotted by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition, 1958, and named after the first Soviet moon module (called "Lunik").

Mount Dergach

. A flat-topped, ice-covered mountain located just west of Ob' Bay and south of Lunik Point. Photographed from the air by United States Navy Operation Highjump, 1946–47. Surveyed by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1958 and named after meteorologist A.P. Dergach, a member of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition, 1959–61, who perished in a fire at

Mirny Station The Mirny Station (, ) is a Russian Antarctic science station. It is located in Queen Mary Land, Antarctica, on the Antarctic coast of the Davis Sea. The station is managed by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute and was named after ...

on August 3, 1960.

Astapenko Glacier

. Glacier, long, draining the north and northeast slopes of Stanwix Peak in the Bowers Mountains and flowing ENE to Ob' Bay. Mapped by

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

(USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960–62. Named by United States

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica. History The committee was established ...

(US-ACAN) for Pavel D. Astapenko, Soviet IGY observer, a Weather Central meteorologist at Little America V in 1958.

Chugunov Glacier

. Glacier about long located just north of Astakhov Glacier in the Bowers Mountains. It is one of several glaciers which drain the east slopes of the

and flow to Ob' Bay. Plotted from photographs taken by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1958. Named for N.A. Chugunov, Soviet aerologist who died while taking part in this expedition.

Astakhov Glacier

. The glacier next south of Chugunov Glacier in the Explorers Range, Bowers Mountains. It flows northeast from Mount Hager and enters Ob' Bay just west of Platypus Ridge. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960–65. Named by US-ACAN for Petr Astakhov, Soviet exchange scientist at the U.S. South Pole Station in 1967.

Platypus Ridge

. Large ice-covered ridge bordering the west side of the mouth of Lillie Glacier. It extends northeast from Bowers Mountains to the head of Ob' Bay. Its position was fixed by S.L. Kirkby, surveyor with

Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE ) is the historical name for the Australian Antarctic Program (AAP) administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). History Australia has had a long involve ...

(ANARE) (Thala Dan) in Feb. 1962. Named by ANARE after this monotreme mammal, native only to Australia.

Lillie Glacier Tongue

. The prominent seaward extension of the Lillie Glacier into Ob' Bay. Discovered by the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910–13, when the ''Terra Nova'' explored westward of Cape North in February 1911. Named by British Antarctic Expedition for Denis G. Lillie, biologist on the ''Terra Nova''.

Sputnik Islands

. Two ice-covered islands, one much larger than the other, located between Cape Cheetham and Cape Williams in the entrance to Ob' Bay. The islands were photographed from the air by United States Navy Operation Highjump, 1946–47. Surveyed by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition, 1958, and named after

Sputnik 1 Sputnik 1 (, , ''Satellite 1''), sometimes referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program ...

, the first Soviet artificial earth satellite.

References

Sources

* * * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Bays of Victoria Land Pennell Coast