Backdoor Bay () is a small bay at the east side of

Cape Royds Cape Royds () is a dark rock cape forming the western extremity of Ross Island, facing on McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (BrNAE) (1901–1904) and named for Lieutenant Charles Royds, ...

, along the west side of

Ross Island Ross Island is an island in Antarctica lying on the east side of McMurdo Sound and extending from Cape Bird in the north to Cape Armitage in the south, and a similar distance from Cape Royds in the west to Cape Crozier in the east. The isl ...

, Antarctica.

History

The

British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09 The ''Nimrod'' Expedition of 1907–1909, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton and his second time to the Continent. Its main target, among a range of ...

, under

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarcti ...

, unloaded supplies at Backdoor Bay to use at their winter headquarters on Cape Royds. It was named so by them as it lies at the back (east) side of Cape Royds, opposite to the small cove on the west side of the cape, called the "Front Door Bay".

Antarctic Specially Protected Area

Cape Royds is the most western point of Ross Island, about south of

Cape Bird Cape Bird () is a cape which marks the north extremity of Ross Island in Antarctica. It was discovered in 1841 by a British expedition under James Clark Ross, and named by him after Lieutenant Edward J. Bird of the ship HMS ''Erebus''. Cape Bird ...

and north of the

Hut Point Peninsula Hut Point Peninsula () is a long, narrow peninsula from wide and long, projecting south-west from the slopes of Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica. McMurdo Station (US) and Scott Base (NZ) are Antarctic research stations located on the Hut ...

. It is free of ice, with basalt bedrock covered in glacial till. Part of the Backdoor Bay area is protected as

Antarctic Specially Protected Area An Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) is an area on the continent of Antarctica, or on nearby islands, which is protected by scientists and several different international bodies. The protected areas were established in 1961 under the Antarc ...

(ASPA) No.157 because of its historical associations and artefacts. The protected area covers about . It is just east of a protected colony of

Adélie penguin The Adélie penguin (''Pygoscelis adeliae'') is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent, which is the only place where it is found. It is the most widespread penguin species, and, along with the emperor peng ...

South polar skua The south polar skua (''Stercorarius maccormicki'') is a large seabird in the skua family, Stercorariidae. An older name for the bird is MacCormick's skua, after explorer and naval surgeon Robert McCormick, who first collected the type specime ...

s (''Stercorarius maccormicki'') nest nearby. The protected area contains Shackleton's Hut, built in February 1908, as well as stables, kennels, a latrine, a garage for what was the first motor vehicle in Antarctica, an instrument shelter, supply depots and a rubbish site. The ''Nimrod'' Expedition made some of the earliest advances in Antarctic earth sciences, meteorology and the study of flora and fauna at this site, one of the main areas where humans were first active in Antarctica.

References

Sources

* * {{Antarctic Specially Protected Areas Bays of Ross Island Antarctic Specially Protected Areas Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration