Erratic Point
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Erratic Point is a small, moss-covered point at the head of South West Bay, northeast of Cape Gazert, on the west side of
Heard Island The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall land ...
in the southern
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. The First German Antarctica Expedition in 1902 charted a cape in this vicinity, from the summit of
Mount Drygalski Mount Drygalski is an ice-free hill, high, standing southeast of Atlas Cove, near the northwest end of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. The feature appears to have been roughly charted on an 1882 sketch map compiled by Ensign Washing ...
, and applied the name "Kap Lerche." In November 1929 the
British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition The British Australian (and) New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) was a research expedition into Antarctica between 1929 and 1931, involving two voyages over consecutive Austral summers. It was a British Commonwealth initiative, d ...
under
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 ...
charted a small point in this position and applied the name "Erratic Point" because of the large number of massive erratic boulders encountered there. The
Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE ) is the historical name for the Australian Antarctic Program (AAP) administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). History Australia has had a long involve ...
was unable to find any significant feature in this immediate area during their 1948 survey of the island, hence the name Erratic Point was retained by them for this small point.


References


External links


Map of Erratic Point and the northwestern coast of Heard IslandMap of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, including all major topographical features
Headlands of Heard Island and McDonald Islands {{Subantarctic-geo-stub