The Gothic Mountains ( 86°00′S150°00′W / 86.000°S 150.000°W ) is a group of mountains, 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) long, in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica, located west of Watson Escarpment and bounded by Scott Glacier, Albanus Glacier, and Griffith Glacier. [1]
The mountains were first visited in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition (ByrdAE) geological party led by Quin Blackburn. The name was proposed by Edmund Stump, leader of a United States Antarctic Research Program (USARP) - Arizona State University geological party which made investigations here in the 1980–81 season. The mountains are composed of granites which have weathered to produce a series of spires and peaks reminiscent of a Gothic cathedral. [1]
The western Gothic Mountains are just east of Scott Glacier, to the south of the point where the Albanus Glacier joins the Scott Glacier from the east. Peaks in the western section include, from west to east, Grizzly Peak, Mount Zanuck, Zanuck East Peak, Outlook Peak and Mount Danforth. [2] To the southwest are the Organ Pipe Peaks, Mount Harkness and Mount McKercher. [3] The northeastern section includes Mount Andrews and Mount Gerdel. [4] The southeastern part of the range, to the north of Griffith Glacier, includes Scudder Mountain, Mount McKercher, Ruotolo Peak. [5]
Features of the western part of the range include, from west to east, north to south:
85°58′S151°22′W / 85.967°S 151.367°W . A peak rising to 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) high on the southwest flank of Mount Zanuck. The feature was visited in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party and was included in "Darryl Zanuck Mountain." The granite of this peak is highly jointed and fairly bristles with small spires, suggestive of the coat of a grizzly bear. [6]
85°58′S151°10′W / 85.967°S 151.167°W . A mountain about 5 miles (8.0 km) long surmounted by three sharp peaks in an east-west line, the highest of which rises to 2,525 metres (8,284 ft). The feature stands at the south side of Albanus Glacier at the point where the latter joins Scott Glacier. Discovered by Rear Admiral Byrd on the Byrd Antarctic Expedition flight to the South Pole in November 1929. The mountain was visited in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn. Named by Byrd for Darryl F. Zanuck, official of Twentieth Century-Fox Pictures, who assisted the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, 1933–35, in assembling motion-picture records, and later supplied the USAS, 1939–41, with motion-picture projectors. [7]
85°57′S150°53′W / 85.950°S 150.883°W . The easternmost of the three high peaks that rise from Mount Zanuck massif. The peak was discovered and mapped by the geological party of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, 1933–35, led by Quin Blackburn. The name was applied in association with Mount Zanuck by members of NZGSAE who climbed the peak in the 1969-70 season. [7]
85°59′S150°50′W / 85.983°S 150.833°W . A low peak that rises steeply 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Mount Zanuck. Mapped by the USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-64. So named by members of NZGSAE, 1969–70, who obtained a good view of the next stage of their route from here. [8]
85°56′S150°01′W / 85.933°S 150.017°W . An ice-free, pyramidal mountain over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) high, standing immediately east of Mount Zanuck on the south side of Albanus Glacier. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn, and named by Byrd for William H. Danforth of the Purina Mills, St. Louis, contributor to the expedition. [9]
86°03′S150°00′W / 86.050°S 150.000°W . A row of aiguille type rock peaks, 7 miles (11 km) long, standing just north of Mount Harkness. Discovered by the geological party of the.Byrd Antarctic Expedition, 1933–35, who gave the descriptive name. [10]
86°03′S150°10′W / 86.050°S 150.167°W . A prominent rock spire, 2,020 metres (6,630 ft) high, near the center of Organ Pipe Peaks. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn. The allusive name was suggested by Edmund Stump, leader of the USARP-Arizona State University geological party in the Gothic Mountains, 1980-81. [11]
86°04′S150°36′W / 86.067°S 150.600°W . A mountain, 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) high, standing 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Organ Pipe Peaks and forming part of the east wall of Scott Glacier. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn, and named at that time by R. Admiral Byrd for Bruce Harkness, friend of Richard S. Russell, Jr., a member of that party. [12]
86°04′S150°23′W / 86.067°S 150.383°W . A peak, 1,780 metres (5,840 ft) high, located 1 mile (1.6 km) east-southeast of Mount Harkness. The feature was first visited in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn. The descriptive name was suggested by Edmund Stump, leader of a USARP-Arizona State University geological party which studied this peak, 1987-88. [13]
Features of the eastern part of the range include, from west to east, north to south:
85°57′S149°41′W / 85.950°S 149.683°W . Mountain, 2,480 metres (8,140 ft) high, standing between Mount Danforth and Mount Gerdel on the south side of Albanus Glacier. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-63. Named by US-ACAN for Ensign Stanley J. Andrews, United States Navy, who accompanied Lt. George W. Warden in aircraft flights over the Queen Maud Mountains during United States Navy Operation Highjump, 1946-47. [14]
85°59′S149°19′W / 85.983°S 149.317°W . Mountain, 2,520 metres (8,270 ft) high, standing 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Mount Andrews at the south side of Albanus Glacier. Mapped by USGS from ground surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-63. Named by US-ACAN for Lt. David H. Gerdel, United States Navy, of the Byrd Station winter party, 1965. [15]
86°07′S149°36′W / 86.117°S 149.600°W . A mountain, 2,280 metres (7,480 ft) high, between Organ Pipe Peaks and Mount McKercher on the east side of Scott Glacier. The name appears in Paul Siple's 1938 botany report on the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, 1933–35, based on exploration of this vicinity by the expedition's geological party led by Quin Blackburn. [16]
86°09′S150°02′W / 86.150°S 150.033°W . A mountain, 2,230 metres (7,320 ft) high, standing at the east side of Scott Glacier, just north of the mouth of Griffith Glacier. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Qum Blackburn, and named for Hazel McKercher, secretary to R. Admiral Byrd during the period of this expedition. [17]
86°04′S148°06′W / 86.067°S 148.100°W . A peak, 2,490 metres (8,170 ft) high, surmounting the north side of Griffith Glacier, close west of the California Plateau and Watson Escarpment. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960–64. Named by US-ACAN for Lt. Cdr. Anthony P. Ruotolo, aircraft pilot with United States Navy Squadron VX-6 on Operation Deep Freeze 1966 and 1967. [18]
The Horlick Mountains are a mountain group in the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica, lying eastward of Reedy Glacier and including the Wisconsin Range, Long Hills and Ohio Range.
The Reedy Glacier is a major glacier in Antarctica, over 100 nautical miles long and 6 to 12 nautical miles wide, descending from the polar plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf between the Michigan Plateau and Wisconsin Range in the Transantarctic Mountains. It marks the limits of the Queen Maud Mountains on the west and the Horlick Mountains on the east.
The Queen Maud Mountains are a major group of mountains, ranges and subordinate features of the Transantarctic Mountains, lying between the Beardmore and Reedy Glaciers and including the area from the head of the Ross Ice Shelf to the Antarctic Plateau in Antarctica. Captain Roald Amundsen and his South Pole party ascended Axel Heiberg Glacier near the central part of this group in November 1911, naming these mountains for the Norwegian queen Maud of Wales.
The Leverett Glacier is about 50 nautical miles (90 km) long and 3 to 4 nautical miles wide, flowing from the Antarctic Plateau to the south end of the Ross Ice Shelf through the Queen Maud Mountains. It is an important part of the South Pole Traverse from McMurdo Station to the Admundson–Scott South Pole Station, providing a route for tractors to climb from the ice shelf through the Transantarctic Mountains to the polar plateau.
The Tapley Mountains is a range of mountains fronting on the eastern side of the Scott Glacier, extending eastward for 35 nautical miles between Leverett Glacier and Albanus Glacier in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica.
The Britannia Range is a range of mountains bounded by the Hatherton Glacier and Darwin Glacier on the north and the Byrd Glacier on the south, westward of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
The Amundsen Glacier is a major Antarctic glacier, about 7 to 11 km wide and 150 km (80 nmi) long. It originates on the Antarctic Plateau where it drains the area to the south and west of Nilsen Plateau, then descends through the Queen Maud Mountains to enter the Ross Ice Shelf just west of the MacDonald Nunataks.
The Supporters Range is a rugged range in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica. It is 25 nautical miles long, bordering the eastern side of Mill Glacier, from Keltie Glacier in the north to Mill Stream Glacier in the south. So named by the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE) (1961–62) because several peaks of the range are named after supporters of Ernest Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition (1907–09).
The Herbert Range is a range in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica, extending from the edge of the Antarctic Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf between the Axel Heiberg Glacier and Strom Glacier. Named by the New Zealand Antarctic Place-Names Committee (NZ-APC) for Walter W. Herbert, leader of the Southern Party of the New Zealand GSAE (1961–62) which explored the Axel Heiberg Glacier area.
Quarles Range is a high and rugged range of the Queen Maud Mountains, extending from the polar plateau between Cooper Glacier and Bowman Glacier and terminating near the edge of Ross Ice Shelf.
The Scott Glacier is a major glacier, 120 nautical miles long, that drains the East Antarctic Ice Sheet through the Queen Maud Mountains to the Ross Ice Shelf. The Scott Glacier is one of a series of major glaciers flowing across the Transantarctic Mountains, with the Amundsen Glacier to the west and the Leverett and Reedy glaciers to the east.
The Hays Mountains are a large group of mountains and peaks of the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica, surmounting the divide between the lower portions of Amundsen Glacier and Scott Glacier and extending from the vicinity of Mount Thorne on the northwest to Mount Dietz on the southeast.
The Bender Mountains are a small group of mountains 4 nautical miles southwest of the Berry Peaks, between the southeast edge of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Watson Escarpment.
Nilsen Plateau is a rugged, ice-covered plateau in Antarctica. When including Fram Mesa, the plateau is about 30 nautical miles long and 1 to 12 nautical miles wide, rising to 3,940 metres (12,930 ft) high between the upper reaches of the Amundsen and Scott glaciers, in the Queen Maud Mountains. Discovered in November 1911 by the Norwegian expedition under Roald Amundsen, and named by him for Captain Thorvald Nilsen, commander of the ship Fram.
Watson Escarpment is a major escarpment in the Queen Maud Mountains, trending northward along the east margin of Scott Glacier, then eastward to Reedy Glacier where it turns southward along the glacier's west side. Somewhat arcuate, the escarpment is nearly 100 nautical miles long, rises 3,550 metres (11,650 ft) above sea level, and 1,000 to 1,500 metres above the adjacent terrain.
The Duncan Mountains are a group of rugged coastal foothills, about 18 nautical miles long, extending from the mouth of Liv Glacier to the mouth of Strom Glacier at the head of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
The Harold Byrd Mountains are a group of exposed mountains and nunataks which extend in an east–west direction between the lower part of Leverett Glacier and the head of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. They were discovered in December 1929 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Laurence Gould, and named by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd for D. Harold Byrd, a cousin of his and a contributor towards the purchase of furs for the expedition.
Sarnoff Mountains is a range of mountains, 251 nautical miles long and 4 to 8 nautical miles wide separating the west-flowing Boyd Glacier and Arthur Glacier in the Ford Ranges of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica.
The La Gorce Mountains are a group of mountains, 20 nautical miles long, standing between the tributary Robison Glacier and Klein Glacier at the east side of the upper reaches of the Scott Glacier, in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica.
The Rawson Mountains lie within the Queen Maud Mountains to the southeast of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. They are a crescent-shaped range of tabular, ice-covered mountains including Fuller Dome, Mount Wyatt and Mount Verlautz, standing southeast of Nilsen Plateau and extending southeast for 18 nautical miles to the west side of Scott Glacier.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Board on Geographic Names. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey .
