Port Foster
Encyclopedia
Port Foster is one of the safest harbours in Antarctica, located in Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands
.
The center of Deception Island is a caldera
, formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption and later flooded. This has created the 5 miles long, 3 miles wide basin-like harbour of Port Foster. The entrance to Port Foster is only 600 feet wide and is named Neptune's Bellows
.
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.
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 protected as the «Antarctic Specially Protected Area» (ASPA) no. 145.
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
.
The center of Deception Island is a caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
, formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption and later flooded. This has created the 5 miles long, 3 miles wide basin-like harbour of Port Foster. The entrance to Port Foster is only 600 feet wide and is named Neptune's Bellows
Neptune's Bellows
Neptune's Bellows is a channel on the southeast side of Deception Island forming the entrance to Port Foster, in the South Shetland Islands. The name, after the Roman sea god Neptune, was appended by American sealers prior to 1822 because of the strong gusts experienced in this narrow...
.
The harbour was known to sealers as early as 1820, and in its early history was called Port Williams, after Capt. William Smith
William Smith (mariner)
William Smith was the English captain who discovered the South Shetland Islands, an archipelago off the Graham Land in Antarctica....
'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
Henry Foster (scientist)
Henry Foster was a British naval officer who took part in expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic and made various notable scientific observations....
, commander of the HMS Chanticleer
HMS Chanticleer (1808)
HMS Chanticleer was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig of the Royal Navy. Chanticleer was launched on 26 July 1808. She served in European waters during the Napoleonic Wars and was paid off and laid up at Sheerness in July 1816. She was chosen for an 1828 scientific voyage to the Pacific Ocean...
, who made pendulum and magnetic observations in this harbour in 1829. The latter name has become established by usage.
The benthic zone
Benthic zone
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. Organisms living in this zone are called benthos. They generally live in close relationship with the substrate bottom; many such...
of Port Foster is of great ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
interest due to the natural disturbance induced by the volcanic activity. Two areas have been protected as the «Antarctic Specially Protected Area» (ASPA) no. 145.