Gurkovska Cove
| Gurkovska Cove | |
|---|---|
| (Bulgarian: залив Гурковска | |
Location of Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands | |
Gurkovska Cove Location in Antarctica | |
| Location | Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica |
| Group | South Shetland Islands |
| Coordinates | 61°07′40″S 54°42′00″W / 61.12778°S 54.70000°W |
| Type | Cove |
| Etymology | Named after Yuliya Gurkovska |
| Part of | Southern Ocean |
| Primary inflows | The Stadium Glacier |
| Primary outflows | Southern Ocean |
| Ocean/sea sources | Southern Ocean |
| Basin countries | Antarctica |
| Max. length | 2.5 km (8,200 ft) |
| Max. width | 3 km (9,800 ft) |
| Shore length1 | Slavyanka Beach (southwest side) |
| Frozen | Seasonally ice-covered |
| Settlements | None |
| Location | |
Interactive map of Gurkovska Cove | |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Gurkovska Cove (Bulgarian: залив Гурковска, ‘Zaliv Gurkovska’ \'za-liv 'gur-kov-ska\) is the 3 km wide cove indenting for 2.5 km the east extremity of Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is entered southwest of Boyadzhiev Point and northeast of Walker Point. Its southwest side is occupied by Slavyanka Beach. The feature was formed as a result of the retreat of The Stadium (a glacier feeding the cove's head) in the first decade of 21st century.
The cove is named after Yuliya Gurkovska (1945–2001), participant in the Second Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition 1993/94 (while serving as chief of staff of the Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev at that time), for her support for the Bulgarian Antarctic programme. Gurkovska was an experienced explorer who sailed several times together with her husband Doncho Papazov in the course of a plankton research programme carried out onboard various lifeboats in the Black Sea, the Atlantic and the Pacific. Eventually, accompanied by their daughter Yana (then 6 years old), they circumnavigated the world in the yacht Tivia in 1979–1981.