Laurens Peninsula is a rugged peninsula surmounted by several ice-covered peaks. It forms the northwestern part of Heard Island. The name was applied by the ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) following their survey in 1948. It derives from the existing name (Cape Laurens),
applied for the northwestern extremity of this peninsula after the American bark Laurens which, under Captain Franklin F. Smith, visited Heard Island in 1855-56 and assisted in initiating sealing operations there. Click here to see a map of Laurens Peninsula and the northwestern coast of Heard Island.