Port Foster

Location of Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands

Port Foster in 1958

Port Foster is one of the safest harbours in Antarctica, located in Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands.

History

The harbour was known to sealers as early as 1820, and in its early history was called Port Williams, after Capt. William Smith's brig, the Williams, or Yankee Harbor, because of the number of American sealers who harboured there.

A few years later it was named Port Foster after Henry Foster, commander of the HMS Chanticleer, who made pendulum and magnetic observations in this harbour in 1829. The latter name has become established by usage, while the former have remained for other features in the same archipelago — Williams Point and Yankee Harbor.

Description

The center of Deception Island is a caldera, formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption and later flooded. This has created the 10 by 7 km (6.2 by 4.3 mi) basin-like harbour of Port Foster. The entrance to Port Foster is only 560 m (1,840 ft) wide and is named Neptune's Bellows.

The benthic zone of Port Foster is of great ecological interest due to the natural disturbance induced by the volcanic activity. Two areas have been collectively protected as Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No.145.^[1]

References

↑ "Port Foster, Deception Island, South Shetland Islands" (PDF). Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 145: Measure 3, Appendix 2. Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. 2005. Retrieved 2013-09-29.

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

Antarctic Specially Protected Areas

Queen Elizabeth Land	Davis Valley Forlidas Pond

Queen Maud Land	Dakshin Gangotri Glacier Svarthamaren Mountain Yukidori Valley

Mac. Robertson Land	Murray Monolith Rookery Islands Scullin Monolith Taylor Rookery

Princess Elizabeth Land	Amanda Bay Hawker Island Mount Harding Mule Peninsula

Queen Mary Land	Haswell Island

Wilkes Land	Ardery Island Bailey Peninsula Charlton Island Clark Peninsula Dewart Island Frazier Islands Nelly Island Odbert Island

Adélie Land	Bernard Island Bon Docteur Nunatak Carrel Island Géologie Archipelago Lamarck Island Port Martin Rostand Island

George V Land	Mawson's Huts

Victoria Land	Balham Valley Barwick Valley Canada Glacier Cape Adare Cape Geology Cape Hallett Linnaeus Terrace Mount Melbourne Seabee Hook

Ross Sea	Arrival Heights Backdoor Bay Beaufort Island Cape Crozier Cape Evans Cape Royds Hut Point Peninsula Lewis Bay New College Valley North-west White Island Sabrina Island Tramway Ridge

Palmer Land	Ablation Lake Ablation Point Ablation Point – Ganymede Heights Ablation Valley Erratic Valley Flatiron Valley Ganymede Heights Himalia Ridge Marion Nunataks Mount Martine Mount Monique Moutonnée Lake Striation Valley

Graham Land	Apéndice Island Avian Island Biscoe Point Bransfield Strait Cierva Point Dion Islands Eastern Dallmann Bay Green Island Lagotellerie Island Litchfield Island Midas Island Moss Islands Mount Flora Rothera Point South Bay

South Shetlands	Admiralty Bay Ardley Island Byers Peninsula Cape Shirreff Collins Point Coppermine Peninsula Crater Lake Deception Island Discovery Bay Fildes Peninsula Halfthree Point Harmony Point Kroner Lake Lions Rump Mount Pond Narębski Point Pendulum Cove Port Foster Potter Peninsula Ronald Hill San Telmo Island South East Point Stonethrow Ridge Suffield Point Telefon Bay

South Orkneys	Christoffersen Island Coronation Island Fredriksen Island Grey Island Lynch Island Michelsen Island Moe Island Southern Powell Island

Coordinates: 62°58′37″S 60°39′0″W / 62.97694°S 60.65000°W / -62.97694; -60.65000

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