Smolensk Strait Explained

Smolensk Strait (Bulgarian: проток Смоленск, \'pro-tok smo-'lensk\) is the strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica separating Deception Island from Rozhen Peninsula on Livingston Island, 18.4 km wide between Macaroni Point to the southwest and Barnard Point to the northeast.

The feature is so named in order to preserve the historical memory of the area. While sailing through this strait on 6 February 1821, the Russian explorer Thaddeus von Bellingshausen met with the American sealer Nathaniel Palmer, made a description of Livingston Island and named it Smolensk after the Battle of Smolensk, one of the great battles of the Napoleonic Wars.

Location

Smolensk Strait is centred at -62.8292°N -60.4333°W. British mapping in 1968 and Spanish in 1991.

Maps

References

External links