Horseshoe Island is an island 12 km (6.5 nmi) long and 6 km (3 nmi) wide occupying most of the entrance to Square Bay, along the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was discovered and named by the British Graham Land Expedition under John Rymill who mapped the area by land and from the air in 1936–37. Its name is indicative of the crescentic alignment of the 600 to 900 m (2,000 to 3,000 ft) peaks which give a comparable shape to the island.[1]

Horseshoe Island

Base Y (Marguerite Bay) on Horseshoe Island with Mount Searle in the background
Horseshoe Island Location in Antarctica
Geography
Location	Antarctica
Coordinates	67°51′S 67°12′W
Administration
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System

Station Y

Lying at the north-western end of the island is Station Y 67°48′30″S 67°17′39″W, also known as Horseshoe Base, an inactive but relatively unaltered and completely equipped British research station of the late 1950s. It includes ‘Blaiklock’, a nearby refuge hut. The station was occupied from 11 March 1955 to 21 August 1960, when its personnel were transferred to Stonington Island's Station E. In 1969 it was reopened from 7 March to 11 July to complete local survey work.[2] The site has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 63), following a proposal by the United Kingdom to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.[3]

Turkish Research Base

Turkey has announced the island as the chosen location to install its first research base in Antarctica. Having a recent research program - the Turkish Polar Research Program - started in 2017, it has opened temporary facilities on the island in 2018, including a weather monitoring station and a camp. The plan is to build a permanent base for around 50 people, initially operating only during the summer, and later throughout all the year.[4]

See also

• List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
• Crime in Antarctica
• Russet Pikes

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document: "Horseshoe Island". (content from the Geographic Names Information System)

External links

Media related to Horseshoe Island at Wikimedia Commons