Balaena Valley () is a gently sloping

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

, filled with ice, lying east of Suspiros Bay in the western part of

Joinville Island Joinville Island is the largest island of the Joinville Island group, about long in an east-west direction and wide, lying off the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by the Antarctic Sound. Joinville Islan ...

. It was surveyed by the

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

in 1953–54. The ''Balaena'' (Alexander Fairweather, master) was one of the Dundee whaling ships that visited the Joinville Island group in 1892–93. The name was applied in 1956 by the

United Kingdom 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 ...

and derives from association with Cape Kinnes to the south-west; Robert Kinnes was the Dundee shipowner and merchant who equipped these ships for their Antarctic voyage.

References

* Valleys of Graham Land Landforms of the Joinville Island group {{JoinvilleIsland-geo-stub