Shortly before midnight on the 15th we came abreast of the northern edge of a great glacier or overflow from the inland ice, projecting beyond the barrier into the sea.  It was 400 or 500 ft. high, and at its edge was a large mass of thick bay-ice.  The bay formed by the northern edge of this glacier would have made an excellent landing-place.  A flat ice-foot nearly three feet above sea-level looked like a natural quay.  From this ice-foot a snow-slope rose to the top of the barrier.  The bay was protected from the south-easterly wind and was open only to the northerly wind, which is rare in those latitudes.  A sounding gave 80 fathoms, indicating that the glacier was aground.  I named the place Glacier Bay, and had reason later to remember it with regret.

The ‘Endurance’ steamed along the front of this ice-flow for about seventeen miles.  The glacier showed huge crevasses and high pressure ridges, and appeared to run back to ice-covered slopes or hills 1000 or 2000 ft. high.  Some bays in its front were filled with smooth ice, dotted with seals and penguins.  At 4 a.m. on the 16th we reached the edge of another huge glacial overflow from the ice-sheet.  The ice appeared to be coming over low hills and was heavily broken.  The cliff-face was 250 to 350 ft. high, and the ice surface two miles inland was probably 2000 ft. high.  The cliff-front showed a tide-mark of about 6 ft., proving that it was not afloat.  We steamed along the front of this tremendous glacier for 40 miles and then, at 8.30 a.m., we were held up by solid pack-ice, which appeared to be held by stranded bergs.  The depth, two cables off the barrier-cliff, was 134 fathoms.  No further advance was possible that day, but the noon observation, which gave the position as lat. 76° 27´ S. long. 28° 51´ W., showed that we had gained 124 miles to the south-west during the preceding twenty-four hours.  The afternoon was not without incident.  The bergs in the neighbourhood were very large, several being over 200 ft. high, and some of them were firmly aground, showing tidemarks.  A barrier-berg bearing north-west appeared to be about 25 miles long.  We pushed the ship against a small banded berg, from which Wordie secured several large lumps of biotite granite.  While the ‘Endurance’ was being held slow ahead against the berg a loud crack was heard, and the geologist had to scramble aboard at once.  The bands on this berg were particularly well defined; they were due to morainic action in the parent glacier.  Later in the day the easterly wind increased to a gale.  Fragments of floe drifted past at about two knots, and the pack to leeward began to break up fast.  A low berg of shallow draught drove down into the grinding pack and, smashing against two larger stranded bergs, pushed them off the bank.  The three went away together pell-mell.  We took shelter under the lee of a large stranded berg.