Minna Bluff

Last updated
Minna Bluff
Antarctica relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Victoria Land, Antarctica
Geography
Location Victoria Land, Antarctica

Minna Bluff ( 78°31′S166°25′E / 78.517°S 166.417°E / -78.517; 166.417 (Minna Bluff) ) is a narrow, bold peninsula, 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) long and 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) wide, projecting southeast from Mount Discovery into the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901-04) which named it for Minna, the wife of Sir Clements Markham, the "father" of the expedition. [1] It culminates in a south-pointing hook feature (Minna Hook), and is the subject of research into Antarctic cryosphere history, funded by the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs.

Contents

Exploration and naming

The bluff is mentioned repeatedly in the history of Antarctic exploration. It was first sighted in June 1902, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Expedition, 1901–04. [2] It was thereafter recognised as a key landmark and location for vital supply depots for southern journeys towards the South Pole. Originally identified simply as "the Bluff", it was later named by Scott after the wife of Royal Geographical Society former president Sir Clements Markham.

Every expedition that followed Scott on this route after his pioneering journey (including Ernest Shackleton in 1908, Scott himself in 1911 and Shackleton's Ross Sea party in 1914-16) [3] [4] used Minna Bluff to position depots and as a critical marker to guide homeward journeys. Because of the state of the ice in its immediate vicinity, the polar route was established some 20 miles (32 km) to its east, depots being laid on this route within sight of the Bluff.

The researches of George Simpson, meteorologist on Scott's Terra Nova Expedition established that Minna Bluff has an effect on polar weather. The mass of the Bluff deflects eastward the southerly winds which sweep along the Ross Ice Shelf's eastern edge, and this deflection is then divided when the winds reach Ross Island some 50 mi (80 km) further north. [5] One stream sweeps into McMurdo Sound, the other goes eastward to Cape Crozier. This division of the wind direction is, among other consequences, the cause of the "windless bight" area on the southern coast of Ross Island, [6] an exceptionally cold area of fogs and low winds, encountered on various land journeys between McMurdo Sound and Cape Crozier undertaken on Scott's two expeditions.

Location

Minna Bluff in center east of map C78192s1 Ant.Map Mount Discovery.jpg
Minna Bluff in center east of map

Minna Bluff extends southeast from Mount Discovery into the Ross Ice Shelf. The Eady Ice Piedmont occupies the angle below Mount Discovery between Mason Spur and Minna Bluff. Black Island and White Island are to the north of the bluff. [7] The bluff is the southernmost point of Victoria Land, and separates the Scott Coast to the north from the Hillary Coast of the Ross Dependency to the south.

Features

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

Minna Saddle

78°26′S165°33′E / 78.433°S 165.550°E / -78.433; 165.550 . A sweeping snow saddle, several miles long and wide, at the junction of Minna Bluff and the east slopes of Mount Discovery. It was named in 1958 for its association with Minna Bluff by the New Zealand party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1956-58. [1]

McIntosh Cliffs

78°32′00″S166°24′00″E / 78.5333333°S 166.4°E / -78.5333333; 166.4 . A line of steep, uneven, volcanic bluffs or cliffs, 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi) long, forming the southwest side of the Minna Bluff peninsula, at the south end of Scott Coast. The height of the cliffs increases from west to east, ranging from 400–600 metres (1,300–2,000 ft) high above the Ross Ice Shelf. Named by US-ACAN (1999) after William C. McIntosh, Department of Geoscience, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, a member of the 1982 NMIMT field party that carried out the first geological mapping of Minna Bluff; additional field work at Mount Erebus, 1977-78, 1984-85; Mount Discovery and Mason Spur, 1983-84; Mount Murphy, 1985; Executive Committee Range, 1989-90; Crary Mountains, 1992-93. [8]

Minna Hook

78°36′S167°6′E / 78.600°S 167.100°E / -78.600; 167.100 . A massive hook-shaped volcanic feature, 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) long and rising to 1,115 metres (3,658 ft), that forms the southeast termination of the peninsula named Minna Bluff at the south end of Scott Coast. The name derives from Minna Bluff and was first used in a geologic sketch map and report by Anne Wright-Grassham in 1987. [9]

Eady Ice Piedmont

78°31′S165°20′E / 78.517°S 165.333°E / -78.517; 165.333 . The ice piedmont lying south of Mount Discovery and Minna Bluff, merging at the south side with the Ross Ice Shelf. Mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from ground surveys and Navy air photos. Named by the United States Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) in 1963 for Captain Jack A. Eady, United States Navy, Chief of Staff to the Commander, United States Naval Support Force, Antarctica, from July 1959 to April 1962. [10]

Moore Embayment

78°45′S165°00′E / 78.750°S 165.000°E / -78.750; 165.000 . A large ice-filled embayment between Shults Peninsula and Minna Bluff, along the northwest side of the Ross Ice Shelf. Discovered and named by Captain Robert F. Scott's Discovery expedition, 1901–04. Admiral Sir Arthur Moore, Naval Commander-in-Chief at Cape Town, placed the resources of the naval dockyard at Cape Town at the disposal of the Discovery for much-needed repairs before the ship proceeded to New Zealand and the Antarctic. [11]

Related Research Articles

The Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica is one of the largest valley glaciers in the world, being 200 km (125 mi) long and having a width of 40 km (25 mi). It descends about 2,200 m (7,200 ft) from the Antarctic Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf and is bordered by the Commonwealth Range of the Queen Maud Mountains on the eastern side and the Queen Alexandra Range of the Central Transantarctic Mountains on the western. Its mouth is east of the Lennox-King Glacier. It is northwest of the Ramsey Glacier.

Skelton Glacier is a large glacier flowing from the polar plateau into the Ross Ice Shelf at Skelton Inlet on the Hillary Coast, south of Victoria Land, Antarctica.

The Queen Alexandra Range is a major mountain range about 100 nautical miles long, bordering the entire western side of Beardmore Glacier from the Polar Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf. The range is in the Transantarctic Mountains System, and is located in the Ross Dependency region of Antarctica.

The Alexandra Mountains are a group of low, separated mountains in the north portion of Edward VII Peninsula, just southwest of Sulzberger Bay in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Maud Mountains</span> Major feature group in the Transantarctic Mountains

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churchill Mountains</span> Mountain range in Antarctica

The Churchill Mountains is a major range of mountains and associated elevations bordering the western side of the Ross Ice Shelf, between Byrd Glacier and Nimrod Glacier. They are south of the Britannia Range and north of the Geologists Range, Miller Range and Queen Elizabeth Range.

The Commonwealth Range is a north-south trending range of rugged mountains, 60 nautical miles long, located within the Queen Maud Mountains on the Dufek Coast of the continent of Antarctica. The range borders the eastern side of Beardmore Glacier from Keltie Glacier to the Ross Ice Shelf. The range is southeast of the Queen Alexandra Range, which is to the west of the Beardmore Glacier. It is west of the Hughes Range and north of the Supporters Range and the Barton Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shackleton Glacier</span> Glacier in Antarctica

Shackleton Glacier is a major Antarctic glacier, over 60 nautical miles long and from 5 to 10 nautical miles wide, descending from the Antarctic Plateau from the vicinity of Roberts Massif and flowing north through the Queen Maud Mountains to enter the Ross Ice Shelf between Mount Speed and Waldron Spurs. Discovered by the United States Antarctic Service (USAS) (1939–41) and named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for Sir Ernest Shackleton, British Antarctic explorer.

The Anare Mountains are a large group of mainly snow-covered peaks and ridges along the northern coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. The group is bounded on the north and east by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by Lillie Glacier, and on the south by Ebbe Glacier and Dennistoun Glacier. They are north of the Concord Mountains and east of the Bowers Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Discovery</span> Volcano in Victoria Land, Antarctica

Mount Discovery is a conspicuous, isolated volcanic cone, 2,680 metres (8,790 ft) high, lying at the head of McMurdo Sound and east of Koettlitz Glacier, overlooking the northwest portion of the Ross Ice Shelf. It forms the center of a three-armed mass of which Brown Peninsula is one extension to the north; Minna Bluff is a second to the east; the third is Mount Morning to the west. Mount Discovery was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–04) and named for their expedition ship Discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Island (Ross Archipelago)</span>

White Island is an island in the Ross Archipelago of Antarctica. It is 15 nautical miles long, protruding through the Ross Ice Shelf immediately east of Black Island. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–04) and so named by them because of the mantle of snow that covers it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Island (Ross Archipelago)</span> Island in the Ross Archipelago, Antarctica

Black Island, is an island in the Ross Archipelago, 12 nautical miles long, projecting through the Ross Ice Shelf to a height of 1,040 metres (3,410 ft).meters. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition and named by them for its appearance. The island is largely ice free and principally composed of black volcanic rock. The island's northernmost point is named Cape Hodgson, commemorating Thomas Vere Hodgson, one of the oldest members of the Discovery Expedition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hut Point Peninsula</span> Landform on Ross Island, Antarctica

Hut Point Peninsula is a long, narrow peninsula from 2 to 3 nautical miles wide and 15 nautical miles long, projecting south-west from the slopes of Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica. McMurdo Station (US) and Scott Base (NZ) are Antarctic research stations located on the Hut Point Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Royds</span> Landform on Ross Island, Antarctica

Cape Royds is a dark rock cape forming the western extremity of Ross Island, facing on McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (BrNAE) (1901–1904) and named for Lieutenant Charles Royds, Royal Navy, who acted as meteorologist on the expedition. Royds subsequently rose to become an Admiral and was later Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, London. The cape is the site of Shackleton's Hut, the expedition camp of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Crozier</span> Headland of Antarctica

Cape Crozier is the most easterly point of Ross Island in Antarctica. It was discovered in 1841 during James Clark Ross's polar expedition of 1839 to 1843 with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, and was named after Commander Francis Crozier, captain of HMS Terror, one of the two ships of Ross' expedition.

The Worcester Range is a high coastal range, about 30 nautical miles long, in Antarctica. It stands between Skelton Glacier and Mulock Glacier on the western side of the Ross Ice Shelf. It is southwest of the Royal Society Range and north of the Conway Range of the Cook Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown Peninsula</span> Peninsula in Antarctica

Brown Peninsula is a nearly ice-free peninsula, 10 nautical miles long and 4 nautical miles wide, which rises above the Ross Ice Shelf northward of Mount Discovery, to which it is connected by a low isthmus. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04 (BrNAE), which named it "Brown Island" because of its color and its island-like character. Since it is a peninsula, the name has been altered accordingly.

Grindley Plateau is a high icecapped plateau in the central Queen Alexandra Range of Antarctica, bordered by the peaks of Mount Mackellar, Mount Bell and Mount Kirkpatrick.

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.

Blue Glacier is a large glacier which flows into Bowers Piedmont Glacier about 10 nautical miles south of New Harbour, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (BrNAE) under Robert Falcon Scott, 1901–04, who gave it this name because of its clear blue ice at the time of discovery.

References

  1. 1 2 Alberts 1995, p. 494.
  2. ↑ Wilson 1973, p. 150, diary entry 12.6.1902.
  3. ↑ Riffenburgh 2004, pp. 216–217.
  4. ↑ Bickel 2000, pp. 99–100.
  5. ↑ Solomon 2001, pp. 152–153.
  6. ↑ Cherry-Garrard 1983, p. 346.
  7. ↑ Mount Discovery USGS.
  8. ↑ McIntosh Cliffs USGS.
  9. ↑ Minna Hook AADC.
  10. ↑ Alberts 1995, p. 208.
  11. ↑ Alberts 1995, p. 503.

Sources

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey .

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.