CHAPTER LII 
THIRD ANTARCTIC VOYAGE OF SIR JAMES ROSS 
Sir James Ross began his survey of part of the 
South Shetland Islands when he reached the north-west 
coast of Joinville Island of Dumont d'Urville. On 
December 28th, 1842, he sighted the conical islet to which 
he gave the name of Etna, then passed an enormous 
glacier descending from an elevation of 1200 feet into the 
ocean, where it presented a vertical cliff 100 feet high. 
Near it, and evidently broken away from its face, was the 
greatest aggregation of icebergs that Sir James ever 
remembered to have seen collected together. Shaping 
a southerly course, numerous rocky islets appeared 
amongst heavy fragments of ice which completely con- 
cealed them until the ships were quite close. They were 
named Danger Isles, and the southernmost islet received 
the name of Charles Darwin. A great number of the 
largest sized black whales were seen here, and Sir James 
thought that a valuable whale fishery might be estab- 
lished in these localities. 
A point of land supposed to be the southern point 
of Joinville Island, but since found to be on a separate 
island, was given the name of Commodore Purvis, com- 
manding the Alfred on the Brazilian station; a remarkable 
peak was called Mount Percy after the Admiral at the 
Cape, and an island off Cape Purvis after Lord George 
Paulet. There appeared to be a passage between Join- 
ville Island and Louis Philippe Land (the northern end 
of Graham Land) into Bransfield Strait. The most striking 
feature in these discoveries was considered to be Mount 
Haddington (7050 ft.), named after the First Lord of the 
Admiralty. It is on the large island to the south, since 
known as James Ross Island. The great gulf between 
Graham Land and Joinville Island was called Erebus 
and Terror Bay. A very small brown islet to the south, 
a quarter of a mile across, with a crater-like peak of 760 ft. 
was given the name of Admiral Sir George Cockburn. 
