Antarctic Peninsula

Antarctic Peninsula, northernmost tip of Antarctica, explored by the American Nathaniel Palmer in 1820. Directly south of South America, the peninsula is flanked on the east by the Weddell Sea and on the west by the Bellingshausen Sea. It was originally called the Palmer Peninsula by the Americans and Graham Land by the British, who claimed the peninsula as part of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Dependencies. Since 1964 the peninsula has been called the Antarctic Peninsula. The northern part of the peninsula is called Graham Land; the southern part, Palmer Land.