Midas Island is an island lying north-west of Apéndice Island in Hughes Bay, off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was first seen by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition under Gerlache in 1898 and described as an island with two summits "like the ears of an ass". The name, given by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1960, derives from this description; Midas, King of Phrygia, was represented in Greek satyric drama with the ears of an ass.[1]

The island forms part of the Cierva Point and offshore islands Important Bird Area and Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) 134.[2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Midas Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Cierva Point and offshore islands". BirdLife data zone: Important Bird Areas. BirdLife International. 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.

  This article incorporates public domain material from "Midas Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

64°10′S 61°7′W / 64.167°S 61.117°W / -64.167; -61.117