GEOGRAPHIC NAMES OF ANTARCTICA 



Melchior, He: see Melchior Islands. 



Melchior, Puerto: see Melchior Harbor. 



Melchior Archipelago; Melchoir Archipelago: see 

 Melchior Islands. 



MELCHIOR HARBOR: small harbor in the Mel- 

 chior Is., Palmer Arch., formed by the semi-circular 

 arrangement of Delta, Alpha, Beta, Kappa and 

 Gamma Islands; in 64°19'S., 62°59'W. The name, 

 derived from the name of the island group, was 

 probably given by DI personnel who roughly sur- 

 veyed the harbor in 1927. The harbor was sur- 

 veyed by Argentine expeditions in 1942, 1943 and 

 1948. Not adopted: Puerto Melchior [Spanish]. 



MELCHIOR ISLANDS : group of many low, ice- 

 covered islands lying near the center of Dallmann 

 Bay in the Palmer Arch.; in 64°19'S., 62°57'W. 

 First seen but left unnamed by a Ger. exp. under 

 Dallmann, 1873-74. They were resighted and 

 roughly charted by the FrAE under Charcot, 

 1903-5. Charcot named what he believed to be 

 the large easternmost island in the group "He 

 Melchior" after Vice Admiral Melchior of the 

 French Navy, but later surveys proved Charcot's 

 "He Melchior" to be two islands, now called Eta 

 Island and Omega Island. The name Melchior Is- 

 lands has since become established for the whole 

 island group now described, and of which Eta 

 Island and Omega Island form the eastern part. 

 The island group was roughly surveyed in 1927 by 

 DI personnel in the Discovery, and was resur- 

 veyed by Argentine expeditions in 1942 and 1943, 

 and again in 1948. Not adopted: He Melchior 

 [French], Melchior Archipelago, Melchoir Archi- 

 pelago. 



MELSOM ROCKS: group of isolated rocks about 

 3 mi N. of Despair Rocks, and some 8 mi. W. of 

 Penguin Pt., the NW. end of Coronation I., in the 

 South Orkney Is.; in 60°31'S., 46°11'W. Prob- 

 ably sighted by Capt. George Powell and Capt. 

 Nathaniel Palmer during their joint cruise in De- 

 cember 1821. Named for Capt. H. G. Melsom, 

 manager of the Thule Whaling Co., by Capt. Petter 

 S0rlle, who conducted a running survey of the 

 South Orkney Is. in 1912-13. 



MELVILLE, CAPE: cape forming the SE. end 

 of King George I., in the South Shetland Is.; in 

 62°01'S., 57°33'W. This name was applied to the 

 NE. cape of King George I. on some early charts, 

 but in recent years has consistently been used for 

 the SE. cape. The name dates back to at least 

 1820 when it was described by Edward Bransfield, 

 Master, RN, during his explorations of South Shet- 

 land Islands. Not adopted: South Foreland. 



Melville's Island: see Laurie Island. 



MELVILLE PEAK : prominent peak surmounting 

 Cape Melville, the SE. end of King George I., in 

 the South Shetland Is.; in 62°00'S., 57°39'W. This 

 peak, which was probably known to early sealers in 

 the area, was charted by the FrAE under Charcot, 

 1908-10. It probably takes its name from nearby 

 Cape Melville. 



MENIER ISLAND: island about 1 mi. long and 

 wide, which is largest in a small island group 

 lying near the mouth of Flandres Bay and about 

 4 mi. NE. of Cape Renard, off the W. coast of 

 Palmer Pen.; in 64°59'S., 63°37'W. The island 

 group was disc, by the FrAE under Charcot, 1903-5, 

 who gave them the name "lies Menier." The 

 name Menier is here applied to the largest of these 

 islands. Not adopted: Guyou Island. 



MENTZEL, MOUNT: mountain about 8,700 ft. 

 in el., situated about 7 mi. ENE. of Ritscher Peak 

 in the NE. portion of the Wohlthat Mtns., in New 

 Schwabenland; in about 72°19'S., 13°45'E. Disc, 

 by the GerAE under Ritscher, 1938-39, who named 

 it for the pres. of the Deutschen Forschungsge- 

 meinschaft (German Research Society). 



MERCER BAY: small bay marked by Geikie Gl. 

 at its head, at the SW. end of Cumberland West 

 Bay, South Georgia; in 54°16'S., 36°40'W. The 

 bay appears on a sketch map of Cumberland Bay 

 by Lt. Samuel A. Duse of the SwedAE, 1901-4. The 

 name is first used on a chart based upon survey 

 work by DI personnel in 1926-30. Probably named 

 for Lt. Cdr. G. M. Mercer, RNR, captain of the DI 

 research ship William Scoreshy, which engaged in 

 whale marking and oceanographic work off South 

 Georgia in 1926-27. 



MERCURY GLACIER: glacier on the E. coast 

 of Alexander I Island, about 6 mi. long and 2 mi. 

 wide, flowing W. into George VI Sound between 

 Waitabit Cliffs and Keystone Cliffs; in 71°34'S., 

 68°14'W. The coast in this vicinity was first ex- 

 plored from the air and partially photographed 

 by Lincoln Ellsworth on Nov. 23, 1935, and was 

 roughly charted from the ground in 1936 by the 

 BGLE under Rymill. This glacier was first sur- 

 veyed in 1948-49 by the FIDS, and was named 

 by them after the planet Mercury. 



MERRITT ISLET: rocky islet about 0.7 mi. 

 long and about 120 ft. in el., lying close off Knox 

 Coast about 4 mi. NW. of Robi»son Gl.; in 66°28'S., 

 107°irE. Delineated from aerial photographs 

 taken by USN Op. Hjp., 1946-47, and named for 

 Everett L. Merritt, photogrammetrist with the 

 Navy Hydrographic Office, who served as surveyor 



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