Davis Sea is an area of the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

along the coast of

East Antarctica East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority (two-thirds) of the Antarctic continent, lying primarily in the Eastern Hemisphere south of the Indian Ocean, and separated from West Antarctica by the Transantarctic ...

between West Ice Shelf in the west and the

Shackleton Ice Shelf Shackleton Ice Shelf is an extensive ice shelf fronting the coast of East Antarctica from 95° E to 105° E. It extends for an along-shore distance of about , projecting seaward about in the western portion and in the east. It occ ...

in the east,USGS Geographic Names Information System, Antarctica Data, Davis Sea
/ref> or between 82° and 96°E. The name "Davis Sea" appears in most leading geographically authoritative publications such as the 2014 10th edition World Atlas from the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

and the 2014 12th edition of the '' Times Atlas of the World'', unlike neighboring proposed water body names such as the Russian-proposed Cooperation Sea to the west. According to the ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'', it stretches from 87°E to 98°E, and is up to deep. Its area is given as only .Gazetteer «About countries»: Davis Sea
/ref> Other authorities such as National Geographic assign it a much smaller extent. The sea borders the Leopold and Astrid Coast portion of

Princess Elizabeth Land Princess Elizabeth Land is the sector of Antarctica between longitude 73rd meridian east, 73° east and Cape Penck (at 87°43' east). The sector is claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, although this claim is not wi ...

, then

Kaiser Wilhelm II Land Kaiser Wilhelm II Land is a part of Antarctica lying between Cape Penck at 87° 43'E and Cape Filchner at 91° 54'E. Princess Elizabeth Land is located to the west, and Queen Mary Land to the east. The area is claimed by Australia a ...

, Pravda Coast and

Queen Mary Land Queen Mary Land or the Queen Mary Coast () is the portion of the coast of Antarctica lying between Cape Filchner, in 91° 54' E, and Cape Hordern, at 100° 30' E. It is claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory. It ...

. The never-approved 2002 draft fourth edition of '' Limits of Oceans and Seas'' identifies that the Tryoshnikova Gulf (named after Alexey Tryoshnikov) is located in the southern part of the Davis Sea. About off the coast of Queen Mary Land is Drygalski Island. The

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n Mirny Station was built on the coast of Queen Mary Land in 1956. Roscoe Glacier flows into the eastern part of Davis Sea. Close offshore are Bigelow Rock and the Gillies Islands. The sea was discovered by the Australian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1914) from the ''Aurora''. It was named by Sir

Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was a British-born Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...

for Captain John King Davis, master of the ''Aurora'' and second in command of the expedition.

References

Seas of the Southern Ocean Antarctic region {{marine-geo-stub

See also

References