GEOGRAPHIC NAMES OF ANTARCTICA 



without reference to the nationaUty of the person 

 honored. 



Under the policy here set forth, decisions on 

 Antarctic names will be based on priority of appli- 

 cation, appropriateness, and the extent to which 

 usage has become established. The grouping of 

 natural features into three orders of magnitude, 

 with corresponding categories of persons according 

 to the type of contribution which they have made, 

 is intended to provide the greatest possible objec- 

 tivity in determining the appropriateness of a 

 name. It does not, however, exclude the use of 

 other than personal names when appropriate. 

 Non-personal names are discussed under a sep- 

 arate heading. 



B. Types of Natural Features 



The kinds of things that have been named in 

 Antarctica are roughly grouped below in three 

 categories. There is considerable latitude for judg- 

 ment in classifying individual features, since it is 

 practically impossible to set size limits for "large 

 glaciers," "great mountains," or "large bays," but 

 this should facilitate rather than hamper the appli- 

 cation of the principles and policies. 



Features having special significance or promi- 

 nence in geographic discovery, scientific investiga- 

 tion, or the history of Antarctica may be placed in 

 the next higher category than their magnitude 

 alone would warrant. 



1. FiRST-ORDEK FEATURES 



a. Regions or "lands" 



b. Coasts 



c. Seas 



d. Plateaus 



e. Extensive mountain ranges' 



f. Major submarine deeps, ridges, plateaus, or 

 swells 



g. Ice shelves 



h. Large glaciers 



2. Second-order features. 



a. Peninsulas 



b. Mountain ranges, except the most extensive 



c. Great or prominent mountains 



d. Glaciers, except the largest 



e. Prominent capes 



f. Islands 



g. Gulfs 



h. Large bays 

 i. Straits or passages 

 j. Harbors 



k. Extensive submarine reefs, shoals, or shal- 

 lows 



except the greater or more prom- 

 inent ones 



3. Third-order features 



a. Minor mountains and hills 



b. Nunataks 



c. Cliffs 



d. Rocks 



e. Minor shore features 



f. Points 



g. Capes 

 h. Glaciers 

 i. Bays 

 j. Coves 



k. Anchorages 



1. Parts of these features 



m. Submarine reefs, shoals, and shallows of 

 small extent 



n. Camps or camp sites and depots (not nat- 

 ural features and not necessarily perma- 

 nent) 



C. Scheme for Application of Personal Names to 

 These Features 



1. First-order features 



a. The leader or organizer of an expedition to 

 Antarctica 



b. Persons who have made discoveries of out- 

 standing significance in Antarctica, or lead- 

 ers of field parties, or captains of ships, that 

 have made such discoveries 



c. Persons who, through their work with Ant- 

 arctic expeditions, have made outstanding 

 contributions to scientific knowledge or to 

 the techniques of Antarctic exploration 



d. A person who has provided the major finan- 

 cial or material support to an expedition, 

 thereby making such an undertaking pos- 

 sible 



2. Second-order features 



a. Persons whose outstanding heroism, skill, 

 spirit, or labor has made a signal contribu- 

 tion to the success of an expedition 



b. Persons who have made important contribu- 

 tions in the planning, organization, out- 

 fitting, or operation of expeditions to Ant- 

 arctica 



c. Ship captains or leaders of field parties of 

 such expeditions 



d. Persons whose contributions to the knowl- 

 edge of the Arctic either have advanced our 

 knowledge of Antarctica or have expanded 

 the possibilities of Antarctic exploration 



e. Persons who have made outstanding con- 

 tributions to equipment for polar explo- 

 ration 



f. The directors or heads of learned societies 

 that have given significant support or made 

 material contributions to Antarctic explo- 

 ration 



