Alexandra Mountains
Encyclopedia
Alexandra Mountains is a group of low, separated mountains in the north portion of Edward VII Peninsula
, just southwest of Sulzberger Bay
in Marie Byrd Land
, Antarctica. Discovered in January-February 1902 by the British National Antarctic Expedition during an exploratory cruise of the Discovery
along the Ross Ice Shelf
. Named for Alexandra
, then Queen of the United Kingdom.
Edward VII Peninsula
King Edward VII Land or King Edward VII Peninsula is a large, ice-covered peninsula which forms the northwestern extremity of Marie Byrd Land. The peninsula projects into the Ross Sea between Sulzberger Bay and the northeast corner of the Ross Ice Shelf, and forms part of the Ross Dependency...
, just southwest of Sulzberger Bay
Sulzberger Bay
Sulzberger Bay is a bay between Fisher Island and Vollmer Island, along the coast of King Edward VII Land. Discovered by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition on December 5, 1929, and named by Byrd for Arthur H...
in Marie Byrd Land
Marie Byrd Land
Marie Byrd Land is the portion of West Antarctica lying east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast. It stretches between 158°W and 103°24'W...
, Antarctica. Discovered in January-February 1902 by the British National Antarctic Expedition during an exploratory cruise of the Discovery
RRS Discovery
The RRS Discovery was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain. Designed for Antarctic research, she was launched in 1901. Her first mission was the British National Antarctic Expedition, carrying Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first, successful...
along the Ross Ice Shelf
Ross Ice Shelf
The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica . It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than 600 km long, and between 15 and 50 metres high above the water surface...
. Named for Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, then Queen of the United Kingdom.
List of mountains
- Balsley Peak (77°38′S 153°36′W) is a distinctive peakSummit (topography)In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
(c. 1100m) located 1.4 nautical miles (2.6 km) southeast of La Gorce Peak. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic NamesAdvisory Committee on Antarctic NamesThe Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending names for features in Antarctica...
(US-ACAN) (2004) after James R. Balsley, U.S. Geological Survey, who conducted airborne magnetometer near this peak during U.S. Navy Operation Highjump, 1946-47; later Chief, Branch of Geophysics, United States Geological SurveyUnited States Geological SurveyThe 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,...
(USGS).
- Bowman Peak (77°29′S 153°13′W) is a peakSummit (topography)In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
on the south side of Butler GlacierButler GlacierButler Glacier is a broad glacier draining the north side of Edward VII Peninsula in the vicinity of Clark Peak, and flowing generally northeastward through the Alexandra Mountains to its terminus in Sulzberger Bay. It was mapped from surveys by the United States Geological Survey and from U.S...
, in the Alexandra Mountains. Discovered by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition in 1929 and named for John McEntee BowmanJohn McEntee BowmanJohn McEntee Bowman was an Canadian-born businessman and an American hotelier and horseman who was the founding president of Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Corp....
, president of the Bowman Biltmore Hotels Corporation, who donated headquarters for the preparation of the expedition.
- Mount Josephine (77°33′S 152°48′W) is a peak marked by prominent rock outcrops, 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Bowman Peak. Discovered by Rear Admiral ByrdRichard Evelyn ByrdRear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...
while on the Byrd Antarctic Expedition Eastern Flight of December 5, 1929, and named by him during the Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1933-35) for Josephine Clay Ford, daughter of Edsel FordEdsel FordEdsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...
, contributor to both expeditions.
- La Gorce Peak (77°37′S 153°22′W) is a prominent summit 8 mi (12.9 km) SW of Mount Josephine, standing at the southern end and marking the highest peak in the Alexandra Mountains. Discovered in February 1929 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, and named by Byrd for John Oliver La Gorce.
- Scott Nunataks (77°14′S 154°12′W) is a conspicuous twin elevations which form the north end of the Alexandra Mountains. Discovered in 1902 by the British National Antarctic Expedition under Captain Robert F. Scott and named after Scott by Lieutenant Kristian PrestrudKristian PrestrudKristian Prestrud was a Norwegian Norwegian naval officer and polar explorer who participated in the Amundsen Antarctic Expedition between 1910 and 1912...
, leader of the Eastern Sledge Party of Amundsen's South Pole expeditionAmundsen's South Pole expeditionThe first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott...
who ascended the features while exploring Edward VII Peninsula in 1911.
- Sneddon Nunataks (77°17′S 153°46′W) is a group of coastal nunataks on the north side of Edward VII Peninsula which overlooks the Swinburne Ice ShelfSwinburne Ice ShelfSwinburne Ice Shelf , is an ice shelf just north of Edward VII Peninsula and the Alexandra Mountains in the southern part of Sulzberger Bay, Antarctica. The ice shelf is 20 miles long and 5 miles wide and extends from Fisher Island to White Islands. It was photographed from aircraft and mapped by...
and Sulzberger BaySulzberger BaySulzberger Bay is a bay between Fisher Island and Vollmer Island, along the coast of King Edward VII Land. Discovered by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition on December 5, 1929, and named by Byrd for Arthur H...
. They stand 11 mi (17.7 km) ESE of Scott Nunataks in the northern part of the Alexandra Mountains. The nunataks appear on the map of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, 1928-30. Named by US-ACAN for Donald L. Sneddon, U.S. Navy, electronics technician with the Byrd StationByrd StationByrd Station refers to a research station established by the United States during the International Geophysical Year by the U.S. Navy during Operation Deep Freeze II in West Antarctica at 80°, 120°W...
winter party in 1967.
- Mount SwadenerMount SwadenerMount Swadener is a peak located in Edward VII Land, West Antarctica. This mountain is located in the Sneddon Nunataks, a group of coastal nunataks on the north side of the Alexandra Mountains of Edward VII Peninsula...
(77°16′S 153°45′W) is a peak in the Sneddon Nunataks, in the north portion of the Alexandra Mountains. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1959-66. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant John R. Swadener, U.S. Navy, navigator of the ski-equipped R4D in which Rear Admiral George J. DufekGeorge J. DufekGeorge John Dufek was an American naval officer, naval aviator, and Arctic expert. He served in World War II and the Korean War and in the 1940s and 1950s spent much of his career in the Antarctic, first with Admiral Byrd and later as supervisor of U.S. programs in the South Polar regions...
made the first aircraft landing at the geographic South PoleSouth PoleThe South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
, on October 31, 1956.
- Mount Youngman (77°15′S 154°21′W) is a snow-covered coastal mountainMountainImage:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
(620 m) 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Scott Nunataks. It stands at the head of Cumbie GlacierCumbie GlacierCumbie Glacier is a short, steep glacier just east of Scott Nunataks, flowing north into Swinburne Ice Shelf along the southwest side of Sulzberger Bay. Mapped by United States Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1959-66. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for...
and overlooks Swinburne Ice ShelfSwinburne Ice ShelfSwinburne Ice Shelf , is an ice shelf just north of Edward VII Peninsula and the Alexandra Mountains in the southern part of Sulzberger Bay, Antarctica. The ice shelf is 20 miles long and 5 miles wide and extends from Fisher Island to White Islands. It was photographed from aircraft and mapped by...
and Sulzberger BaySulzberger BaySulzberger Bay is a bay between Fisher Island and Vollmer Island, along the coast of King Edward VII Land. Discovered by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition on December 5, 1929, and named by Byrd for Arthur H...
which are just to its north. The mountain was first mapped by the United States Geological SurveyUnited States Geological SurveyThe 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,...
(USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1964-66. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic NamesAdvisory Committee on Antarctic NamesThe Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending names for features in Antarctica...
(US-ACAN) for Captain Samuel A. Youngman, U.S. Navy, medical officer on the staff of the Commander, U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, during Operation Deep FreezeOperation Deep FreezeOperation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...
1969 and 1970.