Siniff Bay () 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 ...

wide between Verleger Point and Melville Point, along the coast of

Marie Byrd Land Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of , it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It was named after the wife of American naval officer Richard E. Byrd, who explored the region in the early 20th centu ...

, Antarctica.

Discovery and name

Siniff Bay was mapped by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

(USGS) from surveys and

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

air photos, 1959–65. It was named by 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) for Donald B. Siniff, leader of a

United States Antarctic Research Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...

(USARP) party that studied population dynamics and behavior of

Weddell seal The Weddell seal (''Leptonychotes weddellii'') is a relatively large and abundant Earless seal, true seal with a Subantarctic, circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica. The Weddell seal was discovered and named in the 1820s during expediti ...

s in the

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 ...

area, 1971–72. He also worked in the

McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is ...

area the three preceding austral summers and participated in the

International Weddell Sea Oceanographic Expedition The International Weddell Sea Oceanographic Expeditions or IWSOE are a series of scientific research expeditions to the Weddell Sea began in 1967, involving cooperation among Norway, Canada, Chile and the United States. The Weddell Sea, part of t ...

, 1967–68.

Location

Siniff Bay is on the Pacific Ocean coast of Marie Byrd Land, between Verleger Point to the west and Melville Point to the east. It is east of

Hull Bay Hull Bay () is an ice-filled bay, about wide, fed by Hull Glacier, which descends into it between Lynch Point and Cape Burks, on the coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Discovery and name Hull Bay was discovered by the United States Antarctic ...

, which extends to

Cape Burks Hull Bay () is an ice-filled bay, about wide, fed by Hull Glacier, which descends into it between Lynch Point and Cape Burks, on the coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Discovery and name Hull Bay was discovered by the United States Antarctic ...

. Rose Point lies between the two bays. The Jackson Glacier drains north from the

McDonald Heights The McDonald Heights () are broad, mainly snow-covered heights about long and rising over between Cape Burks and Morris Head on the coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. The heights are bounded southward by Hull Glacier, Kirkpatrick Glacier a ...

into Siniff Bay. Hanessian Foreland is to the west of the glacier and extends along the east side of the bay.

Features

Verleger Point

. Point marking the west side of the entrance to Siniff Bay. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1959-65. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant (j.g.) W.F. Verleger, United States Navy Reserve, Master of the Jacob Ruppert on the first trip to Bay of Whales (1933) during ByrdAE, 1933-35.

Melville Point

. A point marking the east side of the entrance to Siniff Bay. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1959-65. Named by US-ACAN for Captain Frederick C. Melville, Master of the City of New York in voyages to the Bay of Whales during the ByrdAE, 1928-30.

Rose Point

. A rocky point east of Cape Burks. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1959-65. Named by US-ACAN for Stephen D. Rose, First Officer of the ''Bear of Oakland'' on the first voyage to

Bay of Whales The Bay of Whales was a natural ice harbour, or iceport, indenting the front of the Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island, Antarctica, at the southernmost point of the world's ocean. While the Ross Sea stretches considerably further s ...

(1933). He was master of the ''Jacob Ruppert'' on its second voyage to Bay of Whales (1935), during the ByrdAE, 1933-35.

Jackson Glacier

. A glacier about long, flowing north from McDonald Heights into Siniff Bay. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1959-65. Named by US-ACAN for Bernard V. Jackson, Station Scientific Leader at South Pole Station, 1971.

Hanessian Foreland

. A relatively low, snow-covered foreland or peninsula, over long and wide. It extends seaward between Siniff Bay and the western end of

Getz Ice Shelf The Getz Ice Shelf () is an ice shelf over long and from wide, bordering the Hobbs Coast and Bakutis Coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica, between the McDonald Heights and Martin Peninsula. Several large islands are partially or wholly embedd ...

. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy aerial photography, 1959-65. Named by US-ACAN after John Hanessian, Jr. (1925-74), of George Washington University, Washington DC, noted authority on political science and international affairs. At the time of his death he was on leave to the National Science Foundation. From 1954-58, he served on the National Academy of Sciences staff and made substantial contribution to the Committee on Polar Research in the planning and carrying out of the US-IGY program.

References

Sources

* * *{{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Bays of Marie Byrd Land