Byers Peninsula

It occupies 60 km2 (23 sq mi),[1] borders Ivanov Beach to the northeast and is separated from Rotch Dome on the east by the ridge of Urvich Wall.

[3] The feature was named by the UK Antarctic Place-names Committee in 1958 for James Byers, a New York shipowner who tried unsuccessfully in August 1820 to induce the United States Government to found a settlement in and take possession of the South Shetland Islands.

It has diverse and well-developed vegetation, numerous lakes and freshwater pools which support the restricted-range insects Parochlus steinenii and Belgica antarctica, and well-preserved sub-fossil whale bones in raised beaches.

It also has the greatest concentration of historical sites in Antarctica, containing the remains of refuges, with their contemporary artefacts, and shipwrecks of early 19th century sealing expeditions.

[6] Byers Peninsula is part of the mise-en-scène in the Antarctica thriller novel The Killing Ship authored by Elizabeth Cruwys and Beau Riffenburgh under their joint alias Simon Beaufort in 2016.

Location of Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands
Devils Point from Lucifer Crags , with Hell Gates and Vardim Rocks in the middle ground, Long Rock in Morton Strait and Snow Island in the background, and Smith Island seen on the horizon on the right
Map of Byers Peninsula featuring Antarctic Specially Protected Area ASPA 126 and its two restricted zones Ray Promontory and Ivanov Beach
South Beaches on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island , with Camp Byers (International Field Camp) in the foreground, and left to right Tsamblak Hill , Negro Hill and Dometa Point in the background
Topographic map of Livingston Island
Geography of the thriller novel
The Killing Ship by Simon Beaufort