Sewing-Machine Needles

Rock formations in Antarctica

62°58′11.8″S 60°29′39.1″W / 62.969944°S 60.494194°W / -62.969944; -60.494194ArchipelagoSouth Shetland IslandsAdministration

Antarctica

Administered under the Antarctic Treaty SystemDemographicsPopulationuninhabited

Sewing-Machine Needles, also known as Rocas Ministro Ezcurra^[1] (62°58′11.8″S 60°29′39.1″W / 62.969944°S 60.494194°W / -62.969944; -60.494194) is a group of three prominent rock needles, the highest 45 m above water, lying close southeast of Rancho Point, Deception Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The name Sewing-Machine Rock was given by whalers for what was originally a conspicuous natural arch. Needles is now considered the more suitable descriptive term; an earthquake tremor in 1924 caused the arch to collapse. The name Rocas Ministro Ezcurra was given by Dr Douglas (later Sir Douglas) Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1912-14.^[2]

These rocks are remnants of a tuff cone, part of the Baily Head Formation.^[3]

References

^ Alberts, Fred G. 1995. Geographic Names of the Antarctic (second edition). U.S. Board on Geographic Names, U.S. Geological Survey, 523 National Center, Reston, Virginia 22092. Available as an electronic book at: https://archive.org/stream/GeographicNamesOfTheAntarctic2ndEdition/Gna-GeographicNamesOfTheAntarctic2ndEdition1995_djvu.txt
^ SCAR. 2016. Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica ENEA-PNRA. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), Collated by Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (PNRA-Italy) for the SCAR Standing Committee on Antarctic Geographic Information (SCAGI). Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Canberra, Australia. Available online at: https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/scar/display_name.cfm?gaz_id=111125
^ Smellie, J.L. (2002). Lopez-Martinez, J.; Smellie, J.L.; Thomson, J.W.; Thomson, M.R.A. (eds.). Geology, in Geology and geomorphology of Deception Island. Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey. p. 18. ISSN 0951-8886.