Buxton Glacier

Buxton Glacier
Type	tidewater
Location	Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia
Coordinates	54°26′S 36°12′W / 54.433°S 36.200°WCoordinates: 54°26′S 36°12′W / 54.433°S 36.200°W
Terminus	Saint Andrews Bay
Status	retreating

Buxton Glacier is a glacier flowing northeast between Heaney Glacier and Cook Glacier, on the north coast of the island of South Georgia, immediately south of Mount Skittle. The terminus of Buxton Glacier is located at Saint Andrews Bay.^[1] Buxton Glacier is close to Ross Glacier, which is leaving a gravel beach in the wake of its retreat.

Discovery and naming

Buxton Glacier was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1987 after three members of the Buxton family: Major Aubrey Leland Oakes Buxton (Baron Buxton of Alsa), Pamela Mary Birkin (Baroness Buxton of Alsa), and their daughter the Hon. Lucinda Catherine (Cindy) Buxton, FRGS, who visited South Georgia in March 1982.^[1][2]

Flora and fauna

There is a king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) rookery near the terminus of Buxton Glacier at Saint Andrews Bay. This breeding colony has more than 100,000 penguins. Because of the long breeding cycle, the colony is continuously occupied.

See also

• Retreat of glaciers since 1850
• Glacier mass balance

References

1. "Buxton Glacier". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
2. "Buxton Glacier". Australian Antarctic Data Centre. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

External links

• Image of Saint Andrews Bay
•  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "Buxton Glacier" (content from the Geographic Names Information System).