The Windmill Islands are an Antarctic group of rocky islands and rocks about 6 nmi wide, paralleling the coast of Wilkes Land for 17 nmi immediately north of Vanderford Glacier along the east side of Vincennes Bay. Kirkby Shoal is a small shoal area with depths of less than 18 m extending about 140 m westwards and SSW, about 3.4 km from the summit of Shirley Island, Windmill Islands, and 0.15 mi NW of Stonehocker Point, Clark Peninsula. The Windmill Islands were mapped from aerial photographs taken by USN Operation Highjump, 1946–47. So named by the US-ACAN because personnel of Operation Windmill, 1947–48, landed on Holl Island at the southwest end of the group to establish ground control for USN Operation Highjump photographs. The term "Operation Windmill" is a popular expression which developed after the expedition disbanded and refers to the extensive use of helicopters made by this group. The official title of this expedition was the 'Second Antarctic Development Project', U.S. Navy Task Force 39, 1947–48.

Features

Some of the main geographic features of the archipelago are: