The Erebus and Terror Gulf () is a gulf on the southeast side of the tip of the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. ...

, bordered on the northeast by the

Joinville Island group Joinville Island group is a group of antarctic islands, lying off the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which Joinville Island group is separated by the Antarctic Sound. Location The Joinville Island group lies in Graham La ...

and on the southwest by the

James Ross Island group The James Ross Island group () is a group of islands located close to the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The largest islands in the group are James Ross Island, Snow Hill Island, Vega Island, and Seymour Island. The islands lie to ...

Location

The Erebus and Terror Gulf lies in

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee ...

to the east of the

Trinity Peninsula Trinity Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula. It extends northeastward for about 130 km (80 mi) to Cape Dubouzet from an imaginary line connecting Cape Kater on the north-west coast and Cape Longing on the sou ...

, which is itself the tip of the

. The

, Andersson Island and the

Tabarin Peninsula The Tabarin Peninsula () is a peninsula long and wide, lying south of the trough between Hope Bay, Antarctica, Hope Bay and Duse Bay and forming the east extremity of Trinity Peninsula in the Antarctic Peninsula. Location Tabarin Peninsula ...

are to the north.

Prince Gustav Channel The Prince Gustav Channel () is a strait about long and from wide, separating James Ross Island and Vega Island from the Trinity Peninsula, Antarctica. Location Prince Gustav Channel is in Graham Land on the southeast coast of the Trinity Pen ...

enters the west of the gulf, between Eagle Island to the north and

Vega Island Vega Island () is an island in Antarctica, long and wide, which is the northernmost of the James Ross Island group and lies in the west part of Erebus and Terror Gulf. It is separated from James Ross Island by Herbert Sound and from Trinit ...

to the south.

James Ross Island James Ross Island () is a large island off the southeast side and near the northeastern extremity of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by Prince Gustav Channel. Rising to , it is irregularly shaped and extends in a north–so ...

and

Seymour Island Seymour Island or Marambio Island, is an island in the chain of 16 major islands around the tip of the Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. Graham Land is the closest part of Antarctica to South America. It lies within the section of the isl ...

form the southwest edge of the gulf. The

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 C ...

is to the east. This region contains

tabular iceberg An iceberg is a piece of fresh water ice more than long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". Much of an ic ...

s.pbs documentary NOVA
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Name

The Erebus and Terror Gulf was named for HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS ''Terror'', the vessels used by Sir

James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, Sir John Ross, John ...

in exploring these waters in 1842–43.

Features

Barker Bank

. A marine bank in Erebus and Terror Gulf with a least depth of . The bank extends northeast from

Ula Point James Ross Island () is a large island off the southeast side and near the northeastern extremity of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by Prince Gustav Channel. Rising to , it is irregularly shaped and extends in a north–s ...

, James Ross Island, but its limits are not precisely defined. Charted from HMS ''Endurance'', 1981-82, and named by 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) an ...

(UK-APC) after Captain Nicholas J. Barker, RN, who was in command of the ship, 1980-82.

References

Sources

* * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Bays of the James Ross Island group Landforms of the Joinville Island group