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Alexander Island, which is also known as Alexander I Island, Alexander I Land, Alexander Land, Alexander I Archipelago, and Zemlja Alexandra I, is the largest island of Antarctica. It lies in the Bellingshausen Sea west of Palmer Land, Antarctic Peninsula from which it is separated by Marguerite Bay and George VI Sound. The George VI Ice Shelf entirely fills George VI Sound and connects Alexander Island to Palmer Land. The island partly surrounds Wilkins Sound, which lies to its west. Alexander Island is about 390 kilometres (240 mi) long in a north–south direction, 80 kilometres (50 mi) wide in the north, and 240 kilometres (150 mi) wide in the south. Alexander Island is the second-largest uninhabited island in the world, after Devon Island.
The Shackleton Range is a mountain range in Antarctica that rises to 1,875 metres (6,152 ft) and extends in an east–west direction for about 100 miles (160 km) between the Slessor and Recovery Glaciers.
Marguerite Bay or Margaret Bay is an extensive bay on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is bounded on the north by Adelaide Island and on the south by Wordie Ice Shelf, George VI Sound and Alexander Island. The mainland coast on the Antarctic Peninsula is Fallières Coast. Islands within the bay include Pourquoi Pas Island, Horseshoe Island, Terminal Island, and Lagotellerie Island. Marguerite Bay was discovered in 1909 by the French Antarctic Expedition under Jean-Baptiste Charcot, who named the bay for his wife.
George VI Sound or Canal Jorge VI or Canal Presidente Sarmiento or Canal Seaver or King George VI Sound or King George the Sixth Sound is a major bay/fault depression, 300 miles (483 km) long and mainly covered by a permanent ice shelf. It is in the shape of the letter J without any upper bar. It lines the east and south shores of Alexander Island, separating it from the vestigial, quite small, Wordie Ice Shelf and Palmer Land and the north-facing "English Coast". A quite central point of it is 71°S68°W.
Simpson Glacier is a glacier, 6 nautical miles, in the Admiralty Mountains, Antarctica. It flows northward to the coast between Nelson Cliff and Mount Cherry-Garrard where it forms the Simpson Glacier Tongue.
The George VI Ice Shelf is an extensive ice shelf that occupies George VI Sound which separates Alexander Island from Palmer Land in Antarctica. The ice shelf extends from Ronne Entrance, at the southwest end of the sound, to Niznik Island, about 30 nautical miles (56 km) south of the north entrance between Cape Brown and Cape Jeremy. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in association with George VI Sound.
Neptune Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 12 nautical miles (22 km) long and 4 nautical miles (7 km) wide, flowing east into George VI Sound and the George VI Ice Shelf to the south of Triton Point. Although Neptune Glacier is not located within the mountain range Planet Heights, the glaciers name derives from the mountain range along with many other nearby glaciers named after planets of the Solar System. There are also other nearby landforms named in association with these glaciers. The glacier was first sighted from the air by Lincoln Ellsworth on November 23, 1935, and roughly mapped from photos obtained on that flight by W.L.G. Joerg. The mouth of the glacier was positioned in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE). Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for the planet Neptune following a Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) survey in 1949. The head of the glacier was mapped from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE), 1947–48, by Searle of the FIDS in 1960.
Succession Cliffs is a line of steep cliffs 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) extending along the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, facing east towards George VI Sound immediately south of the mouth of Pluto Glacier. The cliffs were probably first sighted by Lincoln Ellsworth who photographed segments of the coast in this vicinity on November 23, 1935. First roughly surveyed from the ground in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition and resurveyed in 1948 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. So named by the FIDS because a geologic succession, or depositional sequence, is revealed by the accessible rock exposures of the cliffs.
Planet Heights is a series of summits running along an ice-free ridge, extending 24 nautical miles (44 km) in a north-south direction between the southernmost extremity of the LeMay Range and George VI Sound in the east part of Alexander Island, Antarctica. Many landforms and nearby features are named in association with this mountain range; some of these include landforms named after astronomers, satellites, planets and other things related to astrology and astrophysics. The mountain range 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. Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) from association with the nearby glaciers named for planets of the Solar System. The only planet that is not featured in any of these glaciers is the planet Earth, as there are no glaciers named "Earth Glacier" and this glacier does not exist.
Pluto Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 10 nautical miles (18 km) long and 4 nautical miles (7 km) wide, which flows east into George VI Sound to the north of Succession Cliffs. Although Pluto Glacier is not located within nearby Planet Heights, the glacier was named in association with the mountain range along with many other nearby glaciers that are named after planets of the Solar System. The glacier was first photographed from the air on November 23, 1935, by Lincoln Ellsworth and mapped from these photos by W.L.G. Joerg. Roughly surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE). Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for Pluto, then considered the ninth planet of the Solar System, following Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) surveys in 1948 and 1949.
Eros Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 7 nautical miles (13 km) long and 2 nautical miles (4 km) wide at its mouth, flowing southeast from the Planet Heights into George VI Sound immediately north of Fossil Bluff. It was probably first seen on November 23, 1935, by Lincoln Ellsworth, who flew directly over the glacier and obtained photos of features north and south of it. The mouth of the glacier was observed and positioned by the British Graham Land Expedition in 1936 and the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1948 and 1949. The glacier was mapped in detail from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, by D. Searle of the FIDS in 1960. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee after the minor planet Eros in association with nearby Pluto Glacier and Uranus Glacier.
Georgian Cliff is a prominent cliff along George VI Sound, located just north of the terminus of Eros Glacier on the east side of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The feature forms a bluff 550 metres (1,800 ft) high at its northern end, but becomes a sharp ridge toward the south. It was mapped from trimetrogon air photography taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, and from survey by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1948–50, and was so named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee because it lies on George VI Sound.
Mercury Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 5 nautical miles (9 km) long and 2 nautical miles (4 km) wide, flowing east into George VI Sound between the Waitabit Cliffs and Keystone Cliffs. The glacier was probably first sighted from a distance by Lincoln Ellsworth, who flew near it and photographed segments of this coast on November 23, 1935. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for the planet Mercury following rough surveys from George VI Sound by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1948 and 1949. The glacier was mapped in detail from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, by D. Searle of the FIDS in 1960. Although Mercury Glacier is not located within the Planet Heights, it is named in association with the heights along with many other nearby glaciers named after planets of the Solar System.
Mars Glacier is a glacier in the southeastern corner of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 6 nautical miles (11 km) long and 2 nautical miles (4 km) wide, flowing south into the George VI Ice Shelf. The glacier lies between Two Step Cliffs and Phobos Ridge. Mars Glacier was first sighted from the air by Lincoln Ellsworth on November 23, 1935, and roughly mapped from photos obtained on that flight by W.L.G. Joerg. It was first surveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for the planet Mars, the fourth planet from the sun in the Solar System.
Saturn Glacier is a glacier lying in southeast Alexander Island, Antarctica. The glacier is 15 nautical miles (28 km) long and 6 nautical miles (11 km) wide, flowing southeast into the George VI Ice Shelf of George VI Sound north of Corner Cliffs. Although the glacier is not situated within Planet Heights, its name derives from the nearby mountain range along with many other glaciers named after planets of the Solar System. The nunataks at the head of the glacier are also named after solar system features, for example the Enceladus Nunataks named for a moon of Saturn. The coast in this vicinity was 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. The glacier was surveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for the planet Saturn, the sixth planet of the Solar System.
Schimper Glacier is a glacier in the east part of Herbert Mountains, Shackleton Range, flowing north-northeast into Slessor Glacier.
Stephenson Nunatak is a prominent, pyramid-shaped rock nunatak, rising to about 640 m, which rises 300 m above the surrounding ice at the northwest side of Kirwan Inlet in the southeast part of Alexander Island, Antarctica. Discovered and roughly surveyed in 1940-41 by Finn Ronne and Carl R. Eklund of the United States Antarctic Service. Resurveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee for Alfred Stephenson, surveyor with the British Graham Land Expedition, who led a sledge party south into George VI Sound to about 72S in 1936. There happens to be another landform on Alexander Island which is named after Alfred Stephenson, that being Mount Stephenson, the highest point of Alexander Island rising to 2,987 m.
Spartan Glacier is a short valley glacier lying between Callisto Cliffs and Tombaugh Cliffs on the east side of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The glacier was first mapped by the Overseas Surveys Directorate from satellite imagery supplied by U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration in cooperation with U.S. Geological Survey. Named by United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee after the British dog team known as "The Spartans," used in ascending this glacier, 1969. This is one of the few glaciers in Antarctica to be named after a dog team.
Khufu Peak is a peak rising to about 745 m located in Planet Heights, near the center of the Fossil Bluff massif, on the east side of Alexander Island, Antarctica, in which the east face of the peak faces towards George VI Sound and the George VI Ice Shelf. For many years this was known to British Antarctic Survey (BAS) workers by the unofficial descriptive name "Pyramid," a name already in use. To avoid duplication, in 1987 the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) applied a new name after Khufu, the second Pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, who erected the Great Pyramid of El Giza.
Venus Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 10 nautical miles (18 km) long and 6 nautical miles (11 km) wide at its mouth flowing east into George VI Sound lying between Keystone Cliffs and Triton Point. The coast in this vicinity was 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. The glacier was first surveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee for the planet Venus, the second planet of the Solar System.
References
This article incorporates public domain material from "Tombaugh Cliffs". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
