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The '''Bay of Whales''' | [[File:Nathaniel Palmer IB.jpg|400px|thumb|Research Vessel Ice Breaker RVIB ''Nathaniel B. Palmer'' at the Bay of Whales]] | ||
The '''Bay of Whales''' was an iceport indentation of the [[Ross Ice Shelf]] and is the southernmost point of open ocean in the world. It lies adjacent to [[Westarctica]], 15 degrees west of Westarctica's western border, at 78°30′S and 164°20′W. | |||
In 1987 the Bay ceased to exist when a large [[iceberg]], iceberg B-9, broke off of the Ross Ice Shelf. | In 1987 the Bay ceased to exist when a large [[iceberg]], iceberg B-9, broke off of the Ross Ice Shelf. | ||
==Discovery and name== | |||
[[Ernest Shackleton]] named the feature on 24 January 1908, during the Nimrod Expedition, because of the large number of whales seen near this location. | |||
==History== | |||
During his quest for the [[South Pole]], Norwegian explorer [[Roald Amundsen]] established a temporary base, which he named Framheim, at the Bay of Whales. The base was used between January 1911 – February 1912, and was named after Amundsen's ship ''[[Fram]]''. | |||
The Bay of Whales has also served as a logistical support base for several other important Antarctic expeditions, including: | |||
* 1928–1930: [[Richard Evelyn Byrd]] – first expedition | |||
* 1933–1935: Richard Evelyn Byrd – second expedition | |||
* 1939–1941: Richard Evelyn Byrd – third expedition | |||
The configuration of the Bay of Whales is continuously changing. A survey by the second Byrd expedition in 1934 determined that the feature lay at the junction of two separate [[ice]] systems, the movements of which are influenced by the presence of [[Roosevelt Island]]. Commander Glen Jacobsen, USN, who visited aboard the USS ''Atka'' in January 1955, found that calving of the ice shelf rendered the iceport temporarily unusable. | |||
The Bay of Whales was entirely eliminated in 1987 when the 154-kilometer-long (83 nmi) Iceberg B-9 broke off from the [[Ross Ice Shelf]]. | |||
The Whale Bay Furrows, a series of undersea valleys on the central Ross continental shelf, were named in association with the Bay of Whales. | |||
[[Category: Geography of Antarctica]] | [[Category: Geography of Antarctica]] | ||
[[Category:Border Features]] |