Shepard Island () is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

about long, lying west of

Grant Island Grant Island () is an ice-covered island, long and wide, lying east of the smaller Shepard Island off the coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Like Shepard Island, Grant Island is surrounded by the Getz Ice Shelf on all but the north side. ...

off 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. The island is ice capped except at its northern, seaward side, and is almost wholly embedded in the

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 ...

Location

Shepard Island is in the north of the

Reynolds Strait Grant Island () is an ice-covered island, long and wide, lying east of the smaller Shepard Island off the coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Like Shepard Island, Grant Island is surrounded by the Getz Ice Shelf on all but the north side. ...

is on its north side, separating it from Forrester Island.

is to the east. It is home to two

Adélie penguin The Adélie penguin (''Pygoscelis adeliae'') is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent, which is the only place where it is found. It is the most widespread penguin species, and, along with the emperor peng ...

rookeries on its north shore. Features, from west to east, include Worley Point, Mount Petinos, Moran Bluff, Mathewson Point and Mount Colburn.

Discovery and name

Shepard Island was discovered by the

United States Antarctic Service 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 ...

(USAS) Expedition (1939–1941) and named for John Shepard Jr., a contributor to the expedition.

Features

Worley Point

. A rock point, the site of an Adelie penguin rookery, forming the northwest corner of Shepard Island. Like Grant Island, eastward, Shepard Island is surrounded by the Getz Ice Shelf except on the north side. The point was charted from the USS ''Glacier'' (Captain Edwin A. McDonald, United States Navy) on February 4, 1962. Name applied by the 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 Lieutenant Richard J. Worley, United States Navy, Medical Officer at South Pole Station, 1969.

Mount Petinos

. A mountain high located east-southeast of Worley Point in the northwest part of Shepard Island. Mapped from the USS ''Glacier'' on February 4, 1962. Named for Lieutenant (j.g.) Frank Petinos, United States Navy, First Lieutenant aboard the ''Glacier''.

Moran Bluff

. A steep coastal bluff close west of Mathewson Point on the north side of Shepard Island. The feature was visited by personnel of USS ''Glacier'' on February 4, 1962. Name applied by US-ACAN for Gerald F. Moran, CM1, United States Navy, construction mechanic who wintered over at

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 ...

(1965) and

Plateau Station Plateau Station is an inactive American research and South Pole—Queen Maud Land Traverse support base on the central Antarctic Plateau. Construction on the site started on December 13, 1965, and the first traverse team (named SPQML II) ar ...

(1968), and worked at

Byrd Station The Byrd Station is a former research station established by the United States during the International Geophysical Year by U.S. Navy Seabees during Operation Deep Freeze II in West Antarctica. It was a year-round base until 1972, and then se ...

, summer season 1969-70.

Mathewson Point

. A steep, rocky point at the north tip of Shepard Island. The point, the site of an Adélie penguin rookery, was charted by personnel of the USS ''Glacier'' on February 4, 1962. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant (j.g.) David S. Mathewson, United States Navy, then supply officer of the ''Glacier''.

Mount Colburn

. A mountain, high, rising above the east-central part of Shepard Island. Mapped from the USS ''Glacier'' on February 4, 1962. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant (j.g.) Richard E. Colburn, United States Navy, Communications Officer on the ''Glacier''.

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control Islands of Marie Byrd Land