Undine Harbour () is a small bay at the head of the

embayment 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 ...

between Cape Paryadin and Cape Chaplin on the south coast of

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

Location

Undine Harbour is near the west end of South Georgia, to the south of a narrow isthmus that separates it from the Inner Bay of Elsehul on the north coast. It lies between Matthews Point to the west and O'Connor Island to the east. It forms the innermost bay in the larger Adventure Bay, which lies between Cape Paryadin to the west and Chaplin Head to east. Grassolm is an island in Adventure Bay. Johan Harbour is to the west of Undine Harbour. Coal Harbour and Frida Hole are to the east.

Exploration and name

On 12 March 1823 Captain James Weddell with his two vessels, the ''Jane'' and the ''Beaufoy'' anchored in Adventure Bay, South Georgia, touching land for the first time in five months. He wrote that "it was not a country the most indulgent", but they did find some bitter green herbs which helped to prevent scurvy, and they found abundant young

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...

es that provided excellent fresh meat. Weddell wrote, however, that the meat was "not sufficiently firm to be compared with that of any domestic fowl." Weddell's expedition left in the middle of April, heading for the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

, where they spent the winter. Undine Harbour, with Johan Harbour, Coal Harbour, and Frida Hole, may form part of the feature called "Adventure Bay" by James Weddell, 1823, and "Discovery Bay" by

Discovery Investigations The Discovery Investigations were a series of scientific cruises and shore-based investigations into the biology of whales in the Southern Ocean. They were funded by the British Colonial Office and organised by the Discovery Committee in London, ...

(DI), 1929. The recommended name Undine Harbour, after the sealing ship ''Undine'' of the

Compañía Argentina de Pesca Compañía Argentina de Pesca () was initiated by the British-Norwegian whaler and Antarctic explorer Carl A. Larsen, and established on 29 February 1904 by three foreign residents of Buenos Aires: the Norwegian consul P. Christophersen, ...

, has been consistently used for this bay since about 1912.

Features

Features of the bay include, from west to east:

Matthews Point

. A point forming the west side of the entrance to Undine Harbor. It was charted in the period 1926-30 by Discovery Investigations personnel and named for L. Harrison Matthews, British zoologist, member of the staff of the Discovery Investigations, 1924–35, who worked at South Georgia in 1924-27.

Survey Isthmus

. A narrow isthmus about high separating Elsehul and Undine Harbor. The name appears to first be used on a 1931 British Admiralty chart.

Hope Valley

. A valley extending east-northeast for nearly from the head of Undine Harbor. It was charted and named "Tal der Hoffnung" by a German expedition under

Ludwig Kohl-Larsen Ludwig Kohl-Larsen (born ''Ludwig Kohl''; 5 April 1884 in Landau in der Pfalz – 12 November 1969 in Bodensee) was a German physician, amateur anthropologist, and explorer. Biography In 1911, he traveled as ship's doctor with Wilhelm Filchn ...

1928–29. An English form of the original name is approved.

Western features

Features to the west of the bay include, from west to east,

Cape Paryadin

. A cape which forms the southernmost point of the west tip of South Georgia. Discovered in 1775 by a British expedition under Cook. The cape was resighted in 1819 by a Russian expedition under

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen Faddey Faddeyevich Bellingshausen or Fabian Gottlieb Benjamin von Bellingshausen ( – ) was a Russian cartographer, explorer, and naval officer of Baltic German descent, who attained the rank of admiral. He participated in the first Russi ...

, who named it for Ya. Poryadin, navigator on the ''Vostok''. The spelling "Paryadin" for the cape has become established through long usage.

Andrews Rocks

. A small group of rocks east of Cape Paryadin. The rocks are bare of vegetation and awash in heavy seas. The name Andrews Islands was probably given by Lieutenant Commander J.M. Chaplin, Royal Navy, of the ''Discovery'' during his survey of the area in 1926. The

South Georgia Survey The South Georgia Survey was a series of expeditions to survey and map the island of South Georgia, led by Duncan Carse between 1951 and 1957. Although South Georgia had been commercially exploited as a whaling station during the first half of t ...

(SGS) of 1955–56 reported that "rocks" is a more suitable descriptive term for this group.

Olsen Rock

. A rock lying southeast of Cape Paryadin. Charted by Discovery Investigations personnel in 1926-27. Surveyed by the SGS in the period 1951-57, and named by the

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) an ...

(UK-APC) for Søren Olsen, gunner of the South Georgia Whaling Company at

Leith Harbour Leith Harbour (), also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia Island, South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen, Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation f ...

, 1926–30, 1933–39 and 1945-53.

Laurie Point

. The east extremity of a small island which lies close to shore and marks the south side of the entrance to Johan Harbour. It was surveyed by the SGS, 1956–57, and named by the UK-APC for A.H. Laurie, member of the scientific staff of the Discovery Investigations Marine Station at

Grytviken Grytviken ( ) is a Hamlet (place), hamlet on South Georgia in the South Atlantic. Formerly a whaling station, it was the largest settlement on the island. Grytviken is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, ...

, in 1930–31, who also worked on the '' William Scoresby'' in 1929-30 and on '' Discovery II'' in 1930.

Saluta Rocks

. A group of rocks east of Laurie Point. The name "Mutt and Jeff" was probably given by Lieutenant Commander J.M. Chaplin of the ''Discovery'' during his survey of the Undine Harbour area in 1926. The SGS, 1955–56, reported that the name is misleading; there are not two rocks as implied, but a group. The rocks were renamed by the UK-APC for the Saluta, a transport of the South Georgia Whaling Co. for many years.

Johan Harbour

. A small bay southwest of Undine Harbour. The name "Johann Harbour" was used on a chart resulting from a survey of this area by Discovery Investigations personnel in 1926-27. The SGS reported in 1957 that "Johan" is the correct spelling of the name, which is well known locally.

Begg Point

. A point forming the northeast side of the entrance to Johan Harbor. Surveyed by the SGS, 1956-57. Named by the UK-APC for Captain Sinclair Begg, Master of the whaling transport ''Coronda'', 1933–40; Master of the ''Southern Opal'', 1945–46; Manager on ''Southern Harvester'', 1946–47; and Manager of the South Georgia Whaling Company station at Leith Harbour, 1947-51.

Hard Head

. A high tussock-topped headland south of Matthews Point on the west side of the approach to Undine Harbour. Surveyed by personnel on HMS Owen in 1960-61 and given this descriptive name by the UK-APC.

Birdie Rocks

. A group of rocks lying south of Undine Harbor between Begg Point and Saluta Rocks, off the west end of South Georgia. The name appears to be first used on a 1929 British Admiralty chart.

Eastern features

Features to the east of the bay include, from west to east,

Bill Inlet

. A small inlet lying immediately east of Undine Harbor. The name appears to be first used on a 1929 British Admiralty chart.

Coal Island

. A small tussock-covered island with off-lying rocks marking the west side of the entrance to Coal Harbor, near the west end of South Georgia. Charted by Discovery Investigations personnel on the ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

'' during the period 1926-30, and by HMS ''Owen'' in 1960-61. Named by the UK-APC in 1963 in association with Coal Harbor.

Coal Harbor

. A small bay east of Undine Harbor. The name Coaling Harbor, given in about 1912, suggests a possible early use of the bay by sealers and whalers. The name was shortened to Coal Harbor by Discovery Investigations personnel.

Frida Hole

. A small bay lying southeast of Coal Harbor. Probably named by early whalers or sealers who used the bay as an anchorage.

Grassholm

. An island south of Frida Hole. The name Em Island was given for this feature, probably by Discovery Investigations personnel who surveyed this coast in 1926. The SGS, 1951–52, reported that this feature is known to whalers and sealers as "Grassholmen," and that Em Island is unknown locally. The indefinite form of the name has been approved.

Chaplin Head

. A headland between Undine Harbor and Schlieper Bay. Charted by Discovery Investigations in 1926, when the hill above the headland was called "Sharp Peak." Following the SGS, 1951–57, renamed Chaplin Head after Lieutenant Commander John M. Chaplin, Royal Navy (1888-1977), survey officer in ''Discovery'', 1925–27, and in charge of a hydrographic survey party in South Georgia, 1928-30.

References

Sources

* * * {{usgs-gazetteer Bays of South Georgia