The Horsa Nunataks ( 68°56′S70°18′W / 68.933°S 70.300°W Coordinates: 68°56′S70°18′W / 68.933°S 70.300°W ) are an isolated group of about five partly snow-covered nunataks, more than 610 metres (2,000 ft) high, which rise above Roberts Ice Piedmont, 14 nautical miles (26 km) north of Mount Calais, in the northeastern part of Alexander Island, Antarctica. They were first photographed from the air in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition under John Rymill, and were surveyed from the ground in 1948 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. The names for these nunataks and for the isolated Hengist Nunatak to the south are for the brother chieftains, Hengist and Horsa, who were believed to have led the first Saxon bands which settled England in the fifth century. [1]
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.
A nunatak is an exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain, or peak not covered with ice or snow within an ice field or glacier. They are also called glacial islands. Examples are natural pyramidal peaks. When rounded by glacial action, smaller rock promontories may be referred to as rognons.
Roberts Ice Piedmont is a large ice piedmont, 20 nautical miles (37 km) long in a north-south direction and 15 nautical miles (28 km) wide, lying to the north and northwest of Mount Calais and occupying most of the northeast corner of Alexander Island, Antarctica. It was first seen from a distance and roughly surveyed by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1908–10, under Charcot. It was photographed from the air by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) on August 15, 1936, and roughly mapped from these photos. It was then named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) in 1955 after Brian B. Roberts (1912–78), a British ornithologist, polar specialist and leading figure in the development of Antarctic nomenclature; ornithologist, BGLE, 1934–37; Secretary, United Kingdom Antarctic Place-names Committee, 1945-74. About six nunataks are situated within the Roberts Ice Piedmont, these are Hengist Nunatak and the Horsa Nunataks. Both of these features are named after Saxon kings of England in the fifth century; however, they have no association or relation with Brian B. Roberts and the Roberts Ice Piedmont itself.
The Usarp Mountains is a major Antarctic mountain range, lying westward of the Rennick Glacier and trending N-S for about 190 kilometres (118 mi). The feature is bounded to the north by Pryor Glacier and the Wilson Hills. Its important constituent parts include Welcome Mountain, Mount Van der Hoeven, Mount Weihaupt, Mount Stuart, Mount Lorius, Smith Bench, Mount Roberts, Pomerantz Tableland, Daniels Range, Emlen Peaks, Helliwell Hills and Morozumi Range.
Exile Nunatak is an isolated nunatak in the northwest part of Handel Ice Piedmont in the west-central part of Alexander Island, Antarctica. It was first mapped from air photos obtained by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, by D. Searle of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1960. The name given by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee suggests the feature's isolated position.
Confluence Cone is a small but conspicuous nunatak 4 nautical miles (7 km) southeast of Sickle Mountain, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was photographed from the air by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition in 1947. It was surveyed from the ground by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1958, and so named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee because of its position at the confluence of several glaciers which merge with Hariot Glacier to flow into the Wordie Ice Shelf.
The Dione Nunataks are rock exposures at the head of Saturn Glacier, 9 nautical miles (17 km) west of Deimos Ridge in the southeastern part of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The nunataks appear to have been first seen from the air by Lincoln Ellsworth on November 23, 1935, and roughly mapped from photos obtained on that flight by W.L.G. Joerg. They were remapped from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, by D. Searle of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1960, and were named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee from association with Saturn Glacier, Dione being one of the satellites of the planet Saturn.
Pedersen Nunatak is the westernmost of the Seal Nunataks, lying 8 nautical miles (15 km) northeast of Cape Fairweather, off the east coast of Antarctic Peninsula. First charted in 1947 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), and named for Captain Morten Pedersen of the Norwegian sealer Castor, which operated in Antarctic waters during the 1893-94 season.
The Finlandia Foothills are a rock massif, 10 nautical miles (19 km) long and 3 nautical miles (6 km) wide, rising to about 1,130 metres (3,700 ft) at the west side of Sibelius Glacier, situated in northern Alexander Island, Antarctica. The massif lies immediately south of the Geode Nunataks, north of the Handel Ice Piedmont and west of Witches Cauldron. They were photographed from the air by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, and mapped from these photographs by D. Searle of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1960. In association with the glacier they were named after the symphonic poem Finlandia by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).
Gaylord Nunatak is a nunatak rising to about 1,500 metres (5,000 ft), 1.5 nautical miles (3 km) north-northeast of Schmutzler Nunatak in the southeast end of the Grossman Nunataks, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy aerial photographs, 1961–68, and from Landsat imagery, 1973–74. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names in 1987 after Chauncey L. Gaylord, a USGS cartographer, 1942–76, Chief of the Compilation Unit in the Branch of Special Maps, working for many years in the preparation of Antarctic maps.
Goldsmith Glacier is a glacier flowing west-northwest through the Theron Mountains of Antarctica, 6 nautical miles (11 km) south of Tailend Nunatak. It was first mapped in 1956–57 by the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) and named for Rainer Goldsmith, medical officer with the advance party of the CTAE in 1955-56.
The Lowe Nunataks are a cluster of low peaks or nunataks 1.5 nautical miles (3 km) southeast of Mount Borgeson in the Walker Mountains of Thurston Island, Antarctica. They were named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after Photographer's Mate W.L. Lowe, an aircrewman in the Eastern Group of U.S. Navy Operation Highjump, which obtained aerial photographs of this feature and coastal areas adjacent to Thurston Island, 1946–47.
Mimas Peak is a sharp conspicuous peak, rising to about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) west of the head of Saturn Glacier and 9 nautical miles (17 km) west of the Dione Nunataks in the southeast part of Alexander Island, Antarctica. It was first seen and photographed from the air by Lincoln Ellsworth on November 23, 1935, and mapped from these photos by W.L.G. Joerg. The peak was sighted from a distance in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and roughly positioned. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for its association with nearby Saturn Glacier, Mimas being one of the satellites of the planet Saturn. The peak and surrounding area were first mapped in detail from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition 1947–48, by D. Searle of the FIDS in 1960.
Heintz Peak is the summit at the north end of the west ridge of the Welch Mountains, about 2 nautical miles (4 km) north of Mount Acton, in Palmer Land, Antarctica. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey in 1974, and was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for Lieutenant Commander Harvey L. Heintz, U.S. Navy, Commander of LC-130 aircraft during Operation Deep Freeze, 1969 and 1970.
Hinely Nunatak is a small nunatak, isolated except for Graser Nunatak 1 nautical mile (2 km) to the northeast, located 16 nautical miles (30 km) east of the Sky-Hi Nunataks in Palmer Land, Antarctica. It was named in 1987 by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after John A. Hinely, Jr., a United States Geological Survey (USGS) civil engineer who, with William F. Graser, formed the USGS satellite surveying team at South Pole Station, winter party 1976.
Hesperus Nunatak is a sharp-pointed nunatak lying 2 nautical miles (4 km) southwest of Titania Peak and about 18 nautical miles (33 km) west of Venus Glacier in the southeastern portion of Alexander Island, Antarctica. It was mapped by the Directorate of Overseas Surveys from satellite imagery supplied by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, and was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee from association with Venus Glacier, Hesperus being a variant name for the "evening star," Venus.
Hengist Nunatak is an isolated flat-topped nunatak, more than 610 metres (2,000 ft) in height, which rises above Roberts Ice Piedmont 10 nautical miles (19 km) north of Mount Calais lying in the northeastern extremity of Alexander Island, Antarctica. It was first photographed from the air in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition under John Rymill, and was surveyed from the ground in 1948 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. The names for this feature and for the Horsa Nunataks to the north are for the brother chieftains, Hengist and Horsa, who were believed to have led the first Saxon bands which settled England in the fifth century.
Holtet Nunatak is a nunatak rising to about 1,300 metres (4,300 ft), 2 nautical miles (4 km) northeast of Grossenbacher Nunatak in the Lyon Nunataks of Palmer Land, Antarctica. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from aerial photographs taken by the U.S. Navy, 1965–68, and from Landsat imagery taken 1973–74. It was named in 1987 by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after Jan A. Holtet of the Norwegian Institute of Cosmic Physics, an upper atmospheric physicist at Siple Station, 1970–71.
House Nunatak is one of the Grossman Nunataks in Palmer Land, Antarctica, located 4 nautical miles (7 km) southeast of Whitmill Nunatak. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after John R. House Jr., a United States Geological Survey cartographer who worked in the field at South Pole Station and Byrd Station, 1972–73.
Recluse Nunatak is an isolated rock exposure lying on the Handel Ice Piedmont, midway between Haydn Inlet and the Colbert Mountains in the west-central portion of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The nunatak was first mapped from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE), 1947–48, by Searle of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1960. The name given by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) suggests the isolated position of the nunatak, considering this landform is situated far away from other landforms of Alexander Island.
The Vesta Nunataks is a small group of nunataks rising to about 1,200 m, lying between Grikurov Ridge in the LeMay Range and Aeolus Ridge in Planet Heights, situated near the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica. In association with the names of planets and their satellites in this area, they were named after Vesta, an asteroid that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. They were named by United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1987.
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility.
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer. GNIS was developed by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) to promote the standardization of feature names.
This Alexander Island location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |