# Dundee Island

Dundee Island (63°30′S 55°55′W﻿ / ﻿63.500°S 55.917°W﻿ / -63.500; -55.917﻿ (Dundee Island)) is an ice-covered island lying east of the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and south of Joinville Island, Antarctica.

## Location

Dundee Island is in the Joinville Island group in Graham Land. It is south of Joinville Island and east of the Trinity Peninsula, which in turn is the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from Joinville Island by Active Sound and the Firth of Tay, and separated from Trinity Peninsula by the Antarctic Sound. Features include the Petrel Base (Argentina) and Cape Purvis in the south. Nearby features include Eden Rocks and Paulet Island.

## Early history

Dundee Island was discovered on Jan. 8, 1893 by Captain Thomas Robertson of the Active and named for the home port, Dundee, Scotland, from whence the ship sailed in company with three other vessels in search of whales. It is from this island that the American businessman Lincoln Ellsworth, accompanied by the pilot Herbert Hollick-Kenyon, took off on the 20 November 1935 for the first crossing of the Antarctic by plane.

## Petrel Base

The Petrel Base is a scientific station in Antarctica belonging to Argentina. Its coordinates are 63°28′41″S 56°13′51.6″W﻿ / ﻿63.47806°S 56.231000°W﻿ / -63.47806; -56.231000﻿ (Petrel Base) and it is located on Welchness cape, Petrel Cove, the only area on Dundee Island that is free of ice and has access to the sea. The area has a diverse bird population. Weddell seals and leopard seals are sometimes seen near the coast. It was established as Petrel Refuge in December 1952, with a small airstrip. The airstrip was extended in summer of 1966–67, and a large metal hangar and other buildings were erected. The base was evacuated after a fire in the winter of 1974, and became a temporary summer station in February 1978. The base infrastructure has 3,600 square metres (39,000 sq ft) under roof, a 1,200 square metres (13,000 sq ft) logistics area and 25 beds.

## Features

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Features and nearby features include, clockwise from the west:

### Welchness

63°29′S 56°14′W﻿ / ﻿63.483°S 56.233°W﻿ / -63.483; -56.233. A gravel spit which forms the west extremity of Dundee Island. Roughly charted by the Dundee whaling expedition (1892-93) and named after Captain George Welch (d.1891), a leading Dundee whaler and Manager, from about 1860 onward, of the Jay Whale Fishing Company, which for many years owned the Dundee whaling expedition ship Active.

### Petrel Cove

63°28′S 56°13′W﻿ / ﻿63.467°S 56.217°W﻿ / -63.467; -56.217. A small coastal indentation at the west end of Dundee Island between Welchness and Diana Reef on Joinville Island. The cove is adjacent to the Argentine station "Petrel," established in 1951-52, from which it takes its name.

### Active Reef

63°23′S 55°52′W﻿ / ﻿63.383°S 55.867°W﻿ / -63.383; -55.867. An isolated reef lying in the Firth of Tay, just off the north coast of Dundee Island. Discovered and named by Thomas Robertson, master of the Active, one of the ships of the Dundee whaling expedition of 1892-93. The Active ran onto this reef during a gale on January 10, 1893 and lay there for 6 hours before she could be gotten off.

### Cape Purvis

63°35′S 55°58′W﻿ / ﻿63.583°S 55.967°W﻿ / -63.583; -55.967. A cape forming the south extremity of Dundee Island. Discovered in December 1842 by Captain James Ross, and named by him for Commodore (later Rear Admiral) John B. Purvis, Royal Navy, who was of assistance to Ross' expedition.