# Spit Bay

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{{Short description|Bay on Heard Island}}
'''Spit Bay''' ({{coord|53|6|S|73|45|E|display=inline,title}}) is an open [bight](/source/Bight_(geography)) formed by the northeast coastline of [Heard Island](/source/Heard_Island) and [Spit Point](/source/Spit_Point), the east extremity of the [island](/source/island). The name derives from the conspicuous [Elephant Spit](/source/Elephant_Spit) which forms the south and east shore of the bight, and may have been given by American sealers at Heard Island in the period following their initiation of [sealing](/source/Seal_hunting) there in 1855. The name appears on a chart by the British, who utilized many names then in use by the sealers. Heard Island and McDonald Islands are located in the [Southern Ocean](/source/Southern_Ocean), approximately {{convert|1700|km|abbr=on}} from the [Antarctic](/source/Antarctic) continent and {{convert|4100|km|abbr=on}} southwest of [Perth](/source/Perth). As the only volcanically active subantarctic islands, they "open a window into the earth", thus providing the opportunity to observe ongoing [geomorphic](/source/geomorphic) processes and glacial dynamics. The distinctive conservation value of Heard and McDonald – one of the world's rare pristine island ecosystems – lies in the complete absence of alien plants and animals, as well as human impact.

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Category:Bays of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Category:Bights (geography)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spit Bay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spit_Bay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spit_Bay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.