how did Elephant island get it's name?

Question

for a reasearch project

Answer 1

Well, looks like quatt47 did all of your work for you...

Answer 2

It was so named because of the rough terrain and climate. The crew of the expedition who landed there called it 'A Hell of an island' which became corrupted to Elephant Island. See below.

Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands in the Southern Ocean. It lies at latitude 61°08′S, 55°07′W, 1290 km west-southwest of South Georgia, 940 km south of the Falkland Islands, and 890 km southeast of Cape Horn.


Geography
The island is approximately an east to west orientation, with a maximum elevation of 2795 ft (852 m) above sea level at Pardo Ridge. Significant named features of the island are Cape Yelcho, Cape Valentine and Cape Lookout at its northeastern and southernmost extremes, and Point Wild, a spit of land on its northern coast.


Elephant Island seen from the sea, NOAA photoThe island supports no significant flora or native fauna although migratory Gentoo penguins and seals may be found on its shores, and Chinstrap penguins nest there in season. A lack of safe anchorage has prevented any permanent human settlements being formed, despite the island being well placed to support scientific, fishing and whaling activities in the area.

Elephant Island’s name can be attributed to both its elephant head-like appearance and the sighting of elephant seals by Captain George Powell in 1821, one of the earliest sightings of the island. Its weather is normally foggy with much snow. Additionally, winds can reach speeds up to 100 miles per hour on the frigid island. Anyone wishing to visit this remote island must have high cold thresholds and extreme weather tolerance.




The route of the James Caird to South Georgia
Launching the James Caird from the shore of Elephant Island, 24 April 1916The island is most famous as the desolate refuge of Ernest Shackleton and his crew of 28 in 1916 following the loss of their ship Endurance in Weddell Sea ice. Realizing that there was no chance of rescue by any passing ships, Shackleton decided to set out for South Georgia where he knew there was a whaling station. In one of the most incredible feats in the history of sailing and navigation, Shackleton sailed off with five other men on an 800 mile voyage in the open lifeboat James Caird on Easter Monday, April 16, 1916, arriving at South Georgia almost two weeks later. His second in command, John Robert Francis “Frank” Wild remained in charge of the 21 other men on Elephant Island for more than four months while Shackleton led attempts to return with a rescue ship. In his memoir Wild recalled “We gave them three hearty cheers and watched the boat getting smaller and smaller in the distance. Then seeing some of the party in tears, I immediately set them all to work.”

Indeed, there was much work for the stranded party. Because the island had no natural source of shelter, they constructed a shack and wind blocks from their remaining two lifeboats and pieces of canvas tents . Blubber lamps were used for lighting. Expedition physicist Reginald James composed the following verses out of gratitude for Wild's leadership:

My name is Frankie Wild-o.

Me hut's on Elephant Isle.

The wall's without a single brick

And the roof's without a tile.

Nevertheless I must confess,

By many and many a mile,

It's the most palatial dwelling place

You'll find on Elephant Isle.

It's the most palatial dwelling place

You'll find on Elephant Isle.

They hunted for penguins and seals, neither of which were plentiful during the autumn and winter months. The crew, many of whom were already ill and frost-bitten, were now also in danger of starvation. After four and a half months of waiting, one of the stranded men spotted a ship on August 30, 1916. The ship, led by Shackleton, was the borrowed tug boat Yelcho, from Punta Arenas, Chile, commanded by Luis Pardo, which broke through the ice surrounding the island to finally rescue all of the men who set out on the original expedition.

According to Frank Worsley, Shackleton's captain, the men pronounced the island with a silent 't' and an 'h' prefixed, which makes it into Hell-of-an-Island.