Nelson Rock is an uninhabited
solitary
Solitary is the state of being alone or in solitude. The term may refer to:
* ''Solitary'' (album), 2008 album by Don Dokken
* ''Solitary'' (2020 film), a British sci-fi thriller film
* ''Solitary'' (upcoming film), an American drama film
* "S ...
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 ...
, being essentially a dark
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
which is partly
ice
Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
-covered and lies north of
Williams Rocks, off the coast of
Mac Robertson Land
Mac. Robertson Land is the portion of Antarctica lying southward of the coast between William Scoresby Bay and Cape Darnley. It is located at . In the east, Mac. Robertson Land includes the Prince Charles Mountains. It was named by the British ...
in
Holme Bay
Holme Bay is a bay in Antarctica in Mac. Robertson Land, wide, containing many islands, indenting the coast north of the Framnes Mountains. Holme Bay is largely Antarctic oasis, snow-free and was mapped by Norway, Norwegian cartographers from ae ...
. The Rock was mapped by
Robert G. Dovers of the
Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions
The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE ) is the historical name for the Australia: Antarctic Program#Australian Antarctic program, Australian Antarctic Program (AAP) administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic D ...
(ANARE) in 1954. Nelson Rock was named by the
Antarctic Names Committee of Australia
The Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee (AANMC) was established to advise the Government on names for features in the Australian Antarctic Territory and the subantarctic territory of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands. The committe ...
(ANCA) for Robert Edward Kelvin Nelson, a weather observer at
Mawson Station
Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Australian ...
in 1962, who assisted with the
triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points.
Applications
In surveying
Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle m ...
of Nelson Rock and the erection of a
beacon
A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...
.
See also
*
Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about th ...
*
List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
This is a list of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands.
* Antarctic islands are, in the strict sense, the islands around mainland Antarctica, situated on the Antarctic Plate, and south of the Antarctic Convergence. According to the terms of the ...
*
List of Antarctic islands south of 60° S
*
SCAR
A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrosis, fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other Organ (anatomy), organs, and biological tissue, t ...
*
Territorial claims in Antarctica
Seven sovereign states – Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom – have made eight land claim, territorial claims in Antarctica. These countries have tended to place their Antarctic scientific observat ...
References
{{usgs-gazetteer, id=1058
Islands of Mac. Robertson Land