Smith Peninsula
Peninsula of Antarctica
title: "Smith Peninsula" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["important-bird-areas-of-antarctica", "penguin-colonies", "peninsulas-of-palmer-land"] description: "Peninsula of Antarctica" topic_path: "general/important-bird-areas-of-antarctica" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Peninsula" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Peninsula of Antarctica ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox peninsula"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Smith Peninsula |
| map | Antarctica |
| map_caption | Location in Antarctica |
| location | Palmer Land, Antarctica |
| coordinates | |
| :: |
| name = Smith Peninsula | image_name = | image_caption = | map = Antarctica | map_caption = Location in Antarctica | nickname = | location = Palmer Land, Antarctica | coordinates = | archipelago = | total_islands = | major_islands = | area_km2 = | length_km = | width_km = | highest_mount = | elevation_m = | population = | population_as_of = | density_km2 = | ethnic_groups = | country = | treaty_system = The Smith Peninsula () is an ice-covered, "dog-legged" peninsula 25 nmi long and 10 nmi wide, extending in an easterly direction between Keller Inlet and Nantucket Inlet from the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica.
Location
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Ellsworth_Land_-_Palmer_Land.jpg" caption="Eastern Ellsworth Land (south), Southern Palmer Land (north). Guettard Range in center east of map."] ::
The Smith Peninsula is in southeast Palmer Land, on the Lassiter Coast of the Weddell Sea. It lies between Nantucket Inlet to the southwest and Keller Inlet to the northeast. Johnston Glacier flows past the west of the peninsula to Nantucket Inlet. Barcus Glacier flows past the north of the peninsula to Keller Inlet. The Hutton Mountains are to the north of the peninsula. Cape Fiske is the easternmost point.
Discovery and naming
The Smith Peninsula was photographed from the air in December 1940 by members of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (USAS), and in 1947 by members of the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE) under Finn Ronne, who in conjunction with the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) charted it from the ground. It was named by Ronne for Walter Smith, ship's mate, navigator, and trail man with Ronne's expedition.
Important Bird Area
A 292 ha site on fast ice in the northern part of Clarke Bay has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of about 4,000 emperor penguins, estimated from 2009 satellite imagery.
Features
Nantucket Inlet
Johnston Glacier
Keller Inlet
Barcus Glacier
Cape Fiske
References
Sources
- {{citation|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/fedgov/70039167/report.pdf |accessdate=2023-12-03 |edition=2 |editor-last=Alberts |title=Geographic Names of the Antarctic |editor-first=Fred G. |publisher=United States Board on Geographic Names |year=1995}}
- {{citation |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/smith-peninsula-iba-antarctica |ref= |title= Smith Peninsula |date=2015 |website=BirdLife Data Zone|publisher=BirdLife International|access-date= 29 November 2020}}
- {{citation |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellsworth_Land_-_Palmer_Land.jpg |accessdate=2024-01-19 |title=Ellsworth Land - Palmer Land |publisher=USGS: United States Geological Survey |ref= }}
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::