Triton Point

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Triton Point ( 71°42′S68°12′W / 71.700°S 68.200°W / -71.700; -68.200 ) is a rocky headland at the east end of the high ridge separating Venus Glacier and Neptune Glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica. Lincoln Ellsworth first observed the coast in this vicinity from the air by on 23 November 1935, and it was roughly mapped from photos obtained on that flight by W.L.G. Joerg. The British Graham Land Expedition roughly surveyed Triton Point in 1936 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey more accurately defined it in 1949. The United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee named it for its association with nearby Neptune Glacier, Triton being one of the satellites of the planet Neptune, the eighth planet of the Solar System. [1] [2]

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Geology

Triton Point is the type locality of the Triton Point Member of the Neptune Glacier Formation. [3] At Triton Point, the fluvial sedimentary strata of this member of the Neptune Glacier Formation contains numerous, well preserved Cretaceous plant fossils, including rare, high-latitude (about 74° degrees paleolatitude), fossil forests composed of in situ, upright standing, fossil tree trunks. Because the non-marine Triton Point Member is overlain and underlain by fossiliferous marine strata, the age of the upright standing, fossil tree trunks can be determined to be late Albian age. [4] [5]

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Belemnite Point is the eastern extremity of a mainly ice-free, hook-shaped ridge, midway between Lamina Peak and Ablation Point and 2 nautical miles (4 km) inland from George VI Sound on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica. It 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 and resurveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), it was so named by FIDS because of belemnite fossils found in the outcropping marine strata.

Citadel Bastion is a rocky, flat-topped elevation at the south side of the terminus of Saturn Glacier, facing towards George VI Sound and the Rymill Coast, situated on the east side of Alexander Island, Antarctica. Its maximum elevation is about 645 m. Citadel Bastion lies next to Hodgson Lake. This mountain 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. The name applied by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee because it resembles a fortified structure with a watchtower at the end of a wall.

Offset Ridge is a ridge extending west from Triton Point lying between Venus Glacier and Neptune Glacier in eastern Alexander Island, Antarctica. The ridge was mapped by Directorate of Overseas Surveys from satellite imagery by U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration in cooperation with U.S. Geological Survey. The ridge is kinked in the middle and is effectively formed of two ridges offset from one another; thus, the descriptive name applied by United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC).

Coal Nunatak is a flat-topped rock mass with steep cliffs facing south, standing 2 nautical miles (4 km) southwest of Corner Cliffs on the southeast corner of Alexander Island, Antarctica. Lincoln Ellsworth first noted it from the air on November 23, 1935, and mapped it from photos obtained on that flight by W.L.G. Joerg. Observed from the northwest, only the summit protrudes above the coastal ice, and it was uncertain whether this was a peak on Alexander Island or an island in George VI Sound. Its true nature was determined by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) who visited and surveyed this nunatak in 1949. So named by FIDS for exposures of thin lenses of coal occur there.

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.

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.

Pagoda Ridge is a ridge with a small peak resembling a pagoda at the summit, located between Phobos Ridge and Deimos Ridge on the north side of Saturn Glacier, in southeast Alexander Island, Antarctica. The feature was mapped from trimetrogon air photography taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, during 1947 and 1948, and from surveying by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1948–50. This descriptive name was applied by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee.

Himalia Ridge is a ridge running east–west on the north side of the Ganymede Heights massif, north-east of Jupiter Glacier, in the east of Alexander Island, Antarctica. It was photographed from the air by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition in 1947 and mapped from these photographs by D. Searle of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1960. The ridge was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee following British Antarctic Survey geological work, 1983–84, after Himalia, a satellite of the planet Jupiter, in association with Jupiter Glacier.

The Hyperion Nunataks are a group of about 10 nunataks lying south of Saturn Glacier and 8 nautical miles (15 km) west of the Corner Cliffs, in the southeastern part of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The group 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. It was surveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, and so named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee in association with nearby Saturn Glacier, Hyperion being one of the satellites of the planet Saturn.

Selene Nunatak is a nunatak rising to about 1,200 m west of Lunar Crag, situated within the mountain range Planet Heights, in eastern Alexander Island, Antarctica. The nunatak was named in association with nearby Lunar Crag by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1988 after Selene, the Greek goddess of the Moon.

Titan Nunatak is a broad, rather flat-topped nunatak, rising to about 460 m, standing between Coal Nunatak and Tethys Nunataks in the southeast corner of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The nunatak was first sighted and photographed from the air by Lincoln Ellsworth on November 23, 1935, and mapped from photos obtained on that flight by W.L.G. Joerg. Observed from the northwest, only the summit protrudes above the coastal ice, and it was uncertain whether this was a Peak on Alexander Island or an island in George VI Sound. Its true nature was determined by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey who surveyed this nunatak in 1949. Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee for its association with nearby Saturn Glacier, Titan being one of the satellites of the planet Saturn, the sixth planet of the Solar System.

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.

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.

Mount Lassell is a snow-covered peak, 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) high, overlooking the head of Neptune Glacier in the southeast part of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The peak appears to have been 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 remapped from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, by D. Searle of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1960. The peak was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for William Lassell, an English astronomer who discovered Umbriel and Ariel, satellites of the planet Uranus, and the satellite Triton, orbiting the planet Neptune.

References

  1. Stewart, J., 2011. Antarctica: An Encyclopedia, 2nd ed. Jefferson, North Carolina and London, McFarland & Company, Inc. 1771 pp. ISBN   978-0-7864-3590-6
  2. "Triton Point". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  3. Moncrieff, A.C.M. and Kelly, S.R.A., 1993. Lithostratigraphy of the uppermost Fossil Bluff Group (early Cretaceous) of Alexander Island, Antarctica: history of an Albian regression.Cretaceous Research, 14(1), pp.1-15.
  4. Kelly, S.R.A. and Moncrieff, A.C.M., 1992. Marine molluscan constraints on the age of Cretaceous fossil forests of Alexander Island, AntarcticaGeological Magazine, 129(6), pp.771-778.
  5. Cantrill, D., 1995. The occurrence of the fern Hausmannia Dunker (Dipteridaceae) in the Cretaceous of Alexander Island, Antarctica.Alcheringa, 19(3), pp.243-254.