Cook Bay () is an irregular

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 ...

, wide at its entrance between Cape Crewe and Black Head, narrowing into two western arms, Lighthouse Bay and Prince Olav Harbour, along the north coast of

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

. It was charted by

Discovery Investigations The Discovery Investigations were a series of scientific cruises and shore-based investigations into the biology of whales in the Southern Ocean. They were funded by the British Colonial Office and organised by the Discovery Committee in London, ...

(DI) personnel during the period 1926–30, and named by them for Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

, who explored South Georgia and landed in this general vicinity in 1775.

Features

The following notable features of Cook Bay were named by DI personnel, unless otherwise noted. Cape Crewe forms the north side of the entrance to Cook Bay. Cape Crewe is an established name, dating back to about 1912. Crewe Rock, an offshore rock about high, lies 0.1 nautical miles (0.2 km) east of Cape Crewe, for which it is named. Kelp Bank is a

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...

, covered with

kelp Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...

, lying northeast of Cape Crewe. The name appears to be first used on a 1931

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

chart. A small rock group referred to as the Olav Rocks lies east-southeast of Cape Crewe. It was named because the rocks serve as a guide to vessels entering Prince Olav Harbor. DI charts recorded the incorrect spelling, "Prince Olaf Rocks," but later charts corrected this error, and the shortened form of the original name is approved. Lighthouse Bay forms the northern arm of Cook Bay between Cape Crewe and Point Abrahamsen. It was probably named for the now-disused

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

on Sheep Point to the south. South of Lighthouse Bay, Prince Olav Harbour makes up the majority of Cook Bay. Further south, a narrow

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

called Carl Passage, long, connects Elephant Lagoon, which is about long, to Cook Bay. "Carl Passage" may reflect an earlier naming.

References

Bays of South Georgia {{SouthGeorgia-geo-stub