Willan Nunatak

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Location of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Livingston-Island-location-map.png
Location of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands.
A view from Willan Nunatak towards Huntress Glacier and False Bay, with Deception Island in the background. Willan-Nunatak.jpg
A view from Willan Nunatak towards Huntress Glacier and False Bay, with Deception Island in the background.
Topographic map of central-eastern Livingston Island featuring Willan Nunatak. Central-Eastern-Livingston-Map.png
Topographic map of central-eastern Livingston Island featuring Willan Nunatak.
Topographic map of Livingston Island and Smith Island. Livingston-Island-Map-2010-15.png
Topographic map of Livingston Island and Smith Island.

Willan Nunatak is an ice-free tipped peak rising to 449 m on the glacial divide between Huntress Glacier and Balkan Snowfield on Hurd Peninsula in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is linked to Burdick South Peak to the northeast by Willan Saddle and, via Castillo Nunatak and Charrúa Gap, to Charrúa Ridge to the west.

Glacier Persistent body of ice that is moving under its own weight

A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight, creating crevasses, seracs, and other distinguishing features. They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines. Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water.

Huntress Glacier glacier in Antarctica

Huntress Glacier is a glacier 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long and 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) wide flowing into the head of False Bay, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is situated east of Johnsons Glacier, southeast of Contell Glacier and Balkan Snowfield, south of upper Perunika Glacier, southwest of Huron Glacier and northwest of Macy Glacier, and is bounded by Friesland Ridge and the Tangra Mountains to the southeast, Nesebar Gap, Pliska Ridge, Burdick Ridge and Willan Nunatak to the north, and Charrúa Gap and Napier Peak to the northwest.

Balkan Snowfield

Balkan Snowfield is an ice-covered plateau of elevation ranging from 150 to 280 m in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, situated south of lower Perunika Glacier, northwest of Huntress Glacier and north of Contell Glacier. It is 3 km long in southwest-northeast direction and 2 km wide, and bounded by Burdick Ridge to the east, Willan Nunatak and Castillo Nunatak to the southeast, and Krum Rock to the southwest. The feature slopes gently northwestwards with its foot bounded by the hills along Bulgarian Beach. It is named after the Balkans.

Contents

The nunatak is named after the British geologist Robert Charles Richard Willan (b. 1952) who has carried out field work in the area.

Nunatak Exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain, or peak not covered with ice or snow within an ice field or glacier

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.

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The United Kingdom (UK), officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and sometimes referred to as Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

Location

The peak is located at 62°39′13.7″S60°16′32″W / 62.653806°S 60.27556°W / -62.653806; -60.27556 which is 890 m east of Castillo Nunatak, 4.66 km east-southeast of Sinemorets Hill, 2.36 km south-southwest of Burdick Peak, 2.48 km west-southwest of Pliska Peak, 4.96 km west-northwest of Mount Friesland, 4.63 km north-northwest of Stambolov Crag and 3.21 km northeast of Napier Peak. British mapping in 1968, Spanish in 1991, and Bulgarian topographic survey in 1995/96 and mapping in 1996, 2005 and 2009.

Sinemorets Hill

Sinemorets Hill is the second most prominent in the chain of hills surmounting Bulgarian Beach in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica.

Burdick Peak mountain southwest of Mount Bowles on Livingston Island

Burdick Peak is the summit of Burdick Ridge rising to 773 m southwest of Mount Bowles on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-names Committee in 1958 for Christopher Burdick, Master of the American schooner Huntress of Nantucket, who visited the South Shetland Islands in 1820–21.

Mount Friesland

Mount Friesland is a mountain rising to 1,700.2 metres (5,578 ft) in the homonymous Friesland Ridge, the summit of Tangra Mountains and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Its north rib is connected to Pliska Ridge by Nesebar Gap on the west, and to Bowles Ridge by Wörner Gap on the north. On the east Mount Friesland is connected to Presian Ridge and further on to Catalunyan Saddle and Lyaskovets Peak. On the south-southwest it is connected by a short saddle to ‘The Synagogue’ a sharp-peaked rock-cored ice formation abutting neighbouring St. Boris Peak. The peak is heavily glaciated and crevassed, surmounting Huntress Glacier to the west, Perunika Glacier to the north-northwest, Huron Glacier to the northeast and Macy Glacier to the southeast. The local weather is notoriously unpleasant and challenging; according to the seasoned Antarctic mountaineer Damien Gildea who climbed in the area, 'just about the worst weather in the world'.

Maps

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Related Research Articles

Burdick South Peak mountain in Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Burdick South Peak rises 544 m and is formed by an offshoot extending 1 km west-southwestwards from the southeastern extremity of Burdick Ridge in eastern Livingston Island. The peak is narrow, with steep and partly ice-free southern and northern slopes. It is linked to Willan Nunatak by Willan Saddle.

Charrúa Gap

Charrúa Gap is a flat ice-covered saddle extending 2.2 km in east-west direction between Castillo Nunatak and Charrúa Ridge on Hurd Peninsula, eastern Livingston Island at an elevation of 275 m.

Krum Rock nunatak in Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Krum Rock is a small nunatak rising to 208 metres on the southwest edge of Balkan Snowfield just north of Contell Glacier on Hurd Peninsula in eastern Livingston Island, one of the South Shetland Islands in Western Antarctica. The rock projects slightly above the ice sheet with some 3,000 square metres of rocky ground exposed on its northern slope in summer. Because of its location rather than prominence, it is a particularly important landmark in the course of field work carried out in the area.

Orpheus Gate

Orpheus Gate, also Orpheus Pass, is the 548 m high and 380 m wide pass in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica bounded by Pliska Ridge to the southeast and Burdick Ridge to the northwest, Huntress Glacier to the southwest and Perunika Glacier to the northeast.

Pliska Ridge

Pliska Ridge is a three-peaked ridge rising to 667 m in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Its central and highest summit, Pliska Peak, is located 2.48 km east-northeast of Willan Nunatak, 1.81 km southeast of Burdick Peak, 3.53 km south-southwest of Mount Bowles, 3.68 km west-southwest of Kuzman Knoll, and 3.61 km northwest of Mount Friesland. The feature is 1.6 km long and 500 m wide, its axis trending due east-west, with precipitous southern slopes. It is ice-covered except for segments of its easternmost peak and is bounded to the northwest by Orpheus Gate, to the north by the head of Perunika Glacier, to the east by Nesebar Gap, and to the south and west by the head of Huntress Glacier, the latter flowing 6 km southwestwards into False Bay.

Rezen Knoll

Rezen Knoll is a knoll rising to 433 m in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The knoll is bounded to the east, north and west by Perunika Glacier, and linked to Burdick Ridge by Rezen Saddle. The feature is 250 m wide, extending 500 m in east-west direction. Composed of lavas, with precipitous slopes except to the east. Partly ice-free height and western and northern slopes.

Willan Saddle

Willan Saddle is a flat, crescent-shaped and ice-covered saddle extending 1 km in the northeast-southwest direction between Burdick South Peak and Willan Nunatak in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The saddle has an elevation of 400 m and is part of the overland route between Balkan Snowfield and Charrúa Gap in the west and Orpheus Gate in the east, thus providing access from the Bulgarian Base and the Spanish Base to the interior of eastern Livingston Island.

Wörner Gap

Wörner Gap is a flat saddle extending 3 km in the south-north direction between Friesland Ridge and Bowles Ridge in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Its elevation decreases from 585 m in the south to 541 m in the middle, and 525 m in the north. The gap separates the glacial catchments of Perunika Glacier to the west and Huron Glacier to the east, and is linked to the east to Kuzman Knoll, a conspicuous landmark in the area. The gap is visited by field parties from St. Kliment Ohridski Base and Juan Carlos I Base and is subject to Spanish and Bulgarian glaciological studies.

Burdick Ridge

Burdick Ridge is a ridge rising to an elevation of 773 metres (2,536 ft) on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Extending for 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) between Orpheus Gate in the southeast and Rezen Saddle in the northwest, it is bounded by Perunika Glacier to the northeast and Balkan Snowfield to the southwest. It takes its name from its highest point, Burdick Peak.

Napier Peak mountain in Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Napier Peak is the partly ice-free peak rising to 380 m on Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is linked to Charrúa Gap to the north by a 1.5 km ice-covered col, and by an ice-covered saddle to Mirador Hill to the south-southwest, and surmounts Johnsons Glacier to the northwest and west, Huntress Glacier to the east, and False Bay to the south.

Johnsons Dock cove

Johnsons Dock is a sheltered 500 m wide cove indenting for 900 m the northwest coast of Hurd Peninsula on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is part of South Bay entered north of Ballester Point. Surmounted by Charrúa Ridge on the northeast. The cove was frequented by early 19th century sealers.

Charrúa Ridge

Charrúa Ridge is an ice-free rocky ridge rising to 333 metres (1,093 ft) along the northeast coast of Johnsons Dock in Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island, in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is narrow and precipitous, extending 700 metres (800 yd) in a west-northwest to east-southeast direction, with triple heights of elevation 322, 333 and 332 m respectively, and linked to Castillo Nunatak by Charrúa Gap. It surmounts Contell Glacier to the north, South Bay to the west, Johnsons Dock to the southwest and Johnsons Glacier to the south. It forms a prominent landmark in the area between the Spanish Antarctic base Juan Carlos I and the Bulgarian Antarctic base St. Kliment Ohridski.

Johnsons Glacier glacier in Antarctica

Johnsons Glacier is the 1.8 km long and 2.3 km wide glacier on Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica bounded by Charrúa Ridge and Charrúa Gap to the north, Napier Peak to the east, Mirador Hill to the southeast, Hurd Ice Cap to the southwest and Mount Reina Sofía to the west. It is draining northwestwards into Johnsons Dock. The glacier provides overland access from the Spanish base Juan Carlos Primero to the interior of the eastern Livingston Island.

Contell Glacier glacier in Antarctica

Contell Glacier is 1.2 nmi long and 0.4 nautical miles wide glacier on Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica bounded by Atlantic Club Ridge to the northwest, Krum Rock to the north, Balkan Snowfield to the northeast, and Charrúa Ridge and Charrúa Gap to the south. It is crescent-shaped, running northwestwards in its upper course, then between Charrúa Ridge and Krum Rock turning west-southwestwards to flow into South Bay north of Johnsons Dock.

Castillo Nunatak a rocky peak in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Castillo Nunatak is a conspicuous rocky peak rising to 437 m on the glacial divide between Huntress Glacier and Balkan Snowfield on Hurd Peninsula in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is linked to Charrúa Ridge to the west Charrúa Gap and, via Willan Nunatak and Willan Saddle, to Burdick Ridge to the east-northeast. Castillo Nunatak is a prominent landmark in the Charrúa Gap area.

Mirador Hill

Mirador Hill is the rocky hill rising to 307 m on Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica and surmounting Johnsons Glacier to the north-northwest and False Bay to the southeast.

Mount Reina Sofía mountain in Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Mount Reina Sofía is the mostly ice-free peak rising to 275 m on Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica and surmounting Johnsons Glacier to the east and northeast, and the Spanish Antarctic base Juan Carlos Primero to the north-northwest.

References

Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica The authoritative international gazetteer containing all the Antarctic toponyms

The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about those names and the relevant geographical features. The Gazetteer includes also parts of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) gazetteer for under-sea features situated south of 60° south latitude.