Wilkins Sound

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Wilkins Sound (70°15′S 73°0′W) is a sound that is largely occupied by the Wilkins Ice Shelf; it is located between the concave western coastline of Alexander Island and the shores of Charcot Island and Latady Island farther to the west.

Its northern portion was first seen and roughly mapped in 1910 by the French Antarctic Expedition under Jean-Baptiste Charcot and was observed from the air in 1929 by Sir Hubert Wilkins. The configuration of the sound was determined in 1940 on exploratory flights by the US Antarctic Service (USAS). It was named by the USAS for Sir Hubert Wilkins, who in 1929 first proved "Charcot Land" to be an island and thereby indirectly discovered this feature. The existence of Latady Island at the southwest side of the sound was determined in 1960 by D.J.H. Searle of Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) by examination of air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE), 1947-48.

The Wilkins Ice Shelf is a rectangular ice shelf about 80 miles long and 60 miles wide. The feature occupies the central part of Wilkins Sound, from which it takes its name. The name was proposed by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) in 1971.

This article is based on a United States Geological Survey gazetteer.