The Sobral Peninsula () is a high and mainly ice-covered peninsula in northern

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 a ...

, Antarctica. The feature is long and wide and projects southward into the northern part of the

Larsen Ice Shelf The Larsen Ice Shelf is a long ice shelf in the northwest part of the Weddell Sea, extending along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula from Cape Longing to Smith Peninsula. It is named after Captain Carl Anton Larsen, the master of the N ...

west of

Larsen Inlet Larsen Inlet is an inlet, long in a north–south direction and wide, between Cape Longing and Cape Sobral along the east coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. Carl Anton Larsen, a Norwegian whaling captain, reported a large bay in this area in 1893, ...

Location

The Sobral Peninsula lies towards the east end of the

Nordenskjöld Coast The Nordenskjöld Coast (64° 30' S 60° 30' W) is located on the Antarctic Peninsula, more specifically Graham Land, which is the top region of the Peninsula. The Peninsula is a thin, long ice sheet with an Alpine-style mountain chain. The coast ...

of the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín 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 Antarctic ...

. It extends southward into 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 Mar ...

. The

Detroit Plateau Detroit Plateau () is a major interior plateau of Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula, with heights between . Its northeast limit is marked by the south wall of Russell West Glacier, from which it extends some in a general southwest direction t ...

and

Mount Hornsby Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

are to the north. To the east,

separates the Sobral Peninsula from

Mount Tucker Larsen Inlet is an inlet, long in a north–south direction and wide, between Cape Longing and Cape Sobral along the east coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. Carl Anton Larsen, a Norwegian whaling captain, reported a large bay in this area in 189 ...

and the

Longing Peninsula Cape Longing () is a rocky cape on the east coast of Graham Land, Antarctica, forming the south end of a large ice-covered promontory which marks the west side of the south entrance to Prince Gustav Channel. It was discovered by the Swedish Antarc ...

. The

Edgeworth Glacier The Edgeworth Glacier () is a glacier long, flowing south-southwestwards from the edge of Detroit Plateau below Wolseley Buttress to the ice shelf west of Sobral Peninsula, Graham Land, Antarctica. Location Edgeworth Glacier is in Graham Land ...

flows into

Mundraga Bay Mundraga Bay ( bg, залив Мундрага, zaliv Mundraga, ) is the 28.6 km wide bay indenting for 23 km Nordenskjöld Coast in Graham Land, Antarctica. It is entered east of Fothergill Point and west of Cape Sobral. Local coastl ...

to the west.
Copernix satellite image

Name

The name "Sobral Peninsula" was applied by

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) and ...

(UK-APC) in 1963, and derives from Cape Sobral at the south end of this peninsula.

Features

Features and nearby features, from north to south, include:

Ferguson Ridge

. A ridge trending north-northwest – south-southeast and rising to high southwest of

Nodwell Peaks Nodwell Peaks () are two outstanding peaks, less than 1 mile apart, on the east side of Edgeworth Glacier, Graham Land. It is situated 3 km north-northwest of Skidoo Nunatak and 5.2 km west of Maslarov Nunatak. Mapped from surveys by Falkland Isla ...

. Named in 1983 by the UK-APC after

Harry Ferguson Henry George "Harry" Ferguson (4 November 188425 October 1960) was a British mechanic and inventor who is noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor and its three point linkage system, for being the first perso ...

(1884-1960), British pioneer of tractor design from 1911 onward.

Skidoo Nunatak

. A nunatak rising to high, south-southeast of Nodwell Peaks. Named by UK-APC following geological work by the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

(BAS), 1978-79, and in association with the names of pioneers of overland mechanical transport grouped in this area. Named after the

Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Inc. () is a Canadian business jet manufacturer. It was also formerly a manufacturer of commercial jets, public transport vehicles, trains, and recreational vehicles, with the last being spun-off as Bombardier Recreational Pr ...

Ski-Doo Ski-Doo is a brand name of snowmobile manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (originally Bombardier Inc. before the spin-off). The Ski-Doo personal snowmobile brand is so iconic, especially in Canada, that it was listed in 17th place ...

snowmobile used extensively by BAS since 1976.

Muskeg Gap

. A low isthmus at the north end of Sobral Peninsula. The gap provides a coastal route which avoids a long detour around Sobral Peninsula Mapped from surveys by FIDS (1960-61). Named by UK-APC after the Canadian "Muskeg, tractor.

Phoenix Peak

. A peak immediately south of Muskeg Gap at the north end of Sobral Peninsula. Mapped from surveys by FIDS (1960-61). Named by UK-APC after the

Phoenix Manufacturing Company The Phoenix Manufacturing Company, later the Phoenix Steel Company, was one of Eau Claire, Wisconsin's oldest manufacturing firms. It manufactured equipment predominantly for the sawmill and logging equipment industries, which were vital to the es ...

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire (; ) (French for "clear water") is a city mostly located in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat, and with a small portion in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the state' ...

, which started in 1906-07 to design and build steam "locomotive sleds" for hauling logs over ice and snow, probably the earliest successful vehicles of their type.

Fishhook Ridge

. A ridge rising to about high on the east side of Sobral Peninsula. So named by UK-APC in 1990 from the shape of the feature in plan view.

Farquharson Nunatak

. A nunatak northwest of Mount Lombard. Named by the UK-APC after Geoffrey W. Farquharson, BAS geologist who worked in this area in the 1979-80 and 1980-81 field seasons.

Mount Lombard

. The highest peak dominating the mountain mass whose south extremity is Cape Sobral. Mapped from surveys by the

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

(FIDS) (1960-61). Named by UK-APC for

Alvin Orlando Lombard Alvin Orlando Lombard was the American inventor of the track-wheeled vehicle. First patented in 1901, the Lombard Steam Log Hauler revolutionized the movement of harvested logs through the woods and set the stage for every snowmobile, tank and bul ...

, American engineer of the Lombard Steam Log Hauler Co.,

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 census the population was 15,828. Along with Augusta, Waterville is ...

, who designed some of the earliest successful over-snow tractors, the first application of knowledge of snow mechanics to trafficability, 1901-13.

Hamer Hill

. A hill (505, m high on the eastern edge of the central mountain mass of Sobral Peninsula. Named by the UK-APC for Richard D. Hamer, BAS geologist, Rothera Station, 1978-79 and 1980-81, who worked in the area.

Cape Sobral

. High, mainly snow-covered elevation which surmounts the south end of Sobral Peninsula. Discovered by the

Swedish Antarctic Expedition The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 was a scientific expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Background Otto Nord ...

(SwedAE), 1901-04, under

Otto Nordenskjöld Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a Finnish and Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer. Early life Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in Småland in eastern Sweden, in a Finland Swedish family t ...

, who named it for Lieutenant José M. Sobral of the Argentine Navy, assistant physicist and meteorologist with the expedition.

References

Sources

* * {{refend Peninsulas of Graham Land Nordenskjöld Coast