New Harbour () is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

about wide between Cape Bernacchi and Butter Point along the coast of

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78th parallel south, 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Ant ...

, due west 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 ...

Exploration and naming

New Harbour was discovered by the

British National Antarctic Expedition The ''Discovery'' Expedition of 1901–1904, known officially as the British National Antarctic Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since the voyage of James Clark Ross sixty years earlier (1839–1 ...

(BrNAE; 1901–04) and so named because this new harbor was found while the ''Discovery'' was seeking the farthest possible southern anchorage along the coast of Victoria Land.

Location

New Harbour opens into

McMurdo Sound The McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica, known as the southernmost passable body of water in the world, located approximately from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841 and named it after Lieutenant ...

opposite

, between Cape Bernacchi to the north and Butter Point to the south. The

Wilson Piedmont Glacier Wilson Piedmont Glacier () is a large piedmont glacier extending from Granite Harbour to Marble Point on the coast of Victoria Land. Discovery and name The Wilson Piedmont Glacier was discovered by the ''Discovery'' expedition, 1901–1904. ...

is to the north of New Harbour and the Bowers Piedmont Glacier is to the south. To the west, the

Kukri Hills Kukri Hills () is a prominent east-west trending range, about long and over high, forming the divide between Ferrar Glacier on the south and Taylor Glacier and Taylor Valley on the north, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. They are south of the Asgar ...

extend into the harbour to the north of

Ferrar Glacier Ferrar Glacier ()is a glacier in Antarctica. It is about long, flowing from the plateau of Victoria Land west of the Royal Society Range to New Harbour in McMurdo Sound. The glacier makes a right (east) turn northeast of Knobhead, where it whe ...

, which empties into the harbour.

Features

Features include, from north to south, include:

Cape Bernacchi

. A rocky cape between Bernacchi Bay and New Harbor. Discovered by the BrNAE, 1901-04, under Scott, and named by him for Louis C. Bernacchi, physicist with the expedition.

McClintock Point

A point at the north side of the entrance to Explorers Cove, New Harbor. Named by the 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) (1997) after James B. McClintock, Associate Professor of Biology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, who studied the benthos of McMurdo Sound west of Ross Island and along the coast from Granite Harbor to Cape Chocolate, including extensive work in New Harbor in proximity to this point.

Quinn Gully

A mainly ice-free gully, descending between MacDonald Hills and Hjorth Hill to Explorers Cove, New Harbor. Named by US-ACAN (1997) after Thomas Quinn, Supervisor of Continental Air Operations, Antarctic Support Associates.

Explorers Cove

. A cove at the northwest head of New Harbor. The name was applied by the US-ACAN in 1976 in recognition of the large number of explorers that have worked in the vicinity of this cove.

Wales Stream

. A meltwater stream that drains from

Wales Glacier Kukri Hills () is a prominent east-west trending range, about long and over high, forming the divide between Ferrar Glacier on the south and Taylor Glacier and Taylor Valley on the north, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. They are south of the Asga ...

to Explorers Cove. The name was used by N.Z. geologist Burton Murrell in 1973, but he attributes it to an earlier use by C.G. Vucetich and H.W. Wellman.

Marinovic Beach

. A gently sloping beach on the south shore of Explorers Cove. Named by US-ACAN after Baldo Marinovic, graduate student (biology), University of California, Santa Cruz, and member of the 1985 winter party at McMurdo Station. During 1984-85, the sea off this beach was a site for the study of reproductive biology and larval ecology of shallow-water echinoderms by biologists of the University of California, Santa Cruz. The name came into local use following the selection of the beach by Marinovic, correctly, as a likely place to study echinoderms.

Baker Point

A point at the south side of the entrance to Explorers Cove. Named by US-ACAN (1997) after Bill James Baker, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, who conducted underwater research in several areas of McMurdo Sound during the 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1996-97 field seasons, including work at Cape Evans, Razorback Islands, Hutton Cliffs, Arrival Heights, and New Harbor, the location of this point.

Weatherwax Glacier

A glacier which occupies the elevated basin south of Mount Barnes. It drains southeast from high elevation and terminates in a narrow glacial snout on rock bluffs high above New Harbor. Named by US-ACAN (2000) after Allan T. Weatherwax, physicist, Institute of Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, who conducted investigations of the atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere at McMurdo Station, South Pole Station, and several of the Automated Geophysical Observatories (AGOs) located on the Antarctic plateau; completed 10 field seasons in Antarctica, 1988-89 through 1998-99.

Butter Point

. A low point forming the south side of the entrance to New Harbour. Discovered by the BrNAE (1901-04) under Scott. So named by them because the Ferrar Glacier party left a tin of butter here, in anticipation of obtaining fresh seal meat at this point on the return journey.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Bays of Victoria Land Scott Coast Ports and harbours of the Ross Dependency