Deakin Bay is a wide, open bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

 on the coast between Horn Bluff

Horn Bluff

Horn Bluff is a prominent rocky headland on the northern side of the coastal island at the western side of Deakin Bay. The feature rises to 325 m and is marked by the columnar structure of the dolerite forming the upper part of it. Discovered and mapped as part of the mainland by the Australasian...

 and Cape Freshfield

Cape Freshfield

Cape Freshfield is an ice-covered cape between Deakin Bay and the Cook Ice Shelf at Cook Bay. The coastline in this vicinity was first roughly charted by the United States Exploring Expedition under Lt. Charles Wilkes, and for a period this cape was thought to be Wilkes' Cape Hudson...

. The bay was roughly delineated by the Far Eastern Party

Far Eastern Party

The Far Eastern Party was a sledging component of the 1911–14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition, which investigated the previously unexplored coastal regions of Antarctica west of Cape Adare. Led by expedition commander Douglas Mawson, the party aimed to explore the area far to the east of their...

 of Australasian Antarctic Expedition

Australasian Antarctic Expedition

The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was an Australasian scientific team that explored part of Antarctica between 1911 and 1914. It was led by the Australian geologist Douglas Mawson, who was knighted for his achievements in leading the expedition. In 1910 he began to plan an expedition to chart...

 (1911–14) under Sir Douglas Mawson, who named it for Sir Alfred Deakin

Alfred Deakin

Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...

, Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 of Australia in 1910. In certain historical accounts and charts this feature has been correlated with "Peacocks Bay" of the U.S. Exploring Expedition (1838–42) under Lieutenant Charles Wilkes

Charles Wilkes

Charles Wilkes was an American naval officer and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War...

, USN.