The name of the cove derives from the pendulum and magnetic observations made there by the British expedition under Henry Foster in 1829.

Base Aguirre Cerda, a Chilean metereological and volcanological research station in Pendulum Cove, opened in February 1955.

Since 2001 the ruins of the station have been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 76), following a proposal by Chile to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

The name of the cove, which was also given to the refuge, recalls the magnetic observations made with pendulums in the place by the British expedition headed by Henry Foster in 1828.

[citation needed] The cove forms part of an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA 140), comprising several separate sites on Deception Island, and designated as such primarily for its botanic and ecological values.