The Allan Hills are group of hills, mainly ice free and about 12 mile long, lying just north-west of Coombs Hills

Coombs Hills

The Coombs Hills are an area of broken and largely snow-free hills and valleys between Odell Glacier and Cambridge Glacier in Victoria Land. They were discovered in 1957 by the New Zealand Northern Survey Party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition and named by them for D.S...

 near the heads of Mawson Glacier

Mawson Glacier

Mawson Glacier is a large glacier on the east coast of Victoria Land, descending eastward from the polar plateau, to the north of Trinity Nunatak and the Kirkwood Range, to enter Ross Sea, where it forms the Nordenskjold Ice Tongue...

 and Mackay Glacier

Mackay Glacier

Mackay Glacier is a large glacier in Victoria Land, descending eastward from the polar plateau, between the Convoy and Clare Ranges, into the southern part of Granite Harbour. Discovered by the South Magnetic Pole Party of the British Antarctic Expedition and named for Alistair F...

 in Oates Land

Oates Land

Oates Land is a wedge-shaped segment of East Antarctica stretching along and inland from the Oates Coast. Part of the Australian claim to the Antarctic, it extends between 153°45' E and 150° E, forming a wedge between 60° S and the South Pole. It is bounded in the east by the Ross Dependency and in...

 and Victoria Land

Victoria Land

Victoria Land is a region of Antarctica bounded on the east by the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and on the west by Oates Land and Wilkes Land. It was discovered by Captain James Clark Ross in January 1841 and named after the UK's Queen Victoria...

, Antarctica. They were mapped by the New Zealand party (1957–58) of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition

The 1955–58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole...

 and named for Professor R.S. Allan of the University of Canterbury

University of Canterbury

The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Numerous meteorites have been discovered in these hills, which lie at the end of the Transantarctic Mountains

Transantarctic Mountains

The three largest mountain ranges on the Antarctic continent are the Transantarctic Mountains , the West Antarctica Ranges, and the East Antarctica Ranges. The Transantarctic Mountains compose a mountain range in Antarctica which extend, with some interruptions, across the continent from Cape Adare...

. Amongst them is the meteorite Allan Hills 84001 which is said to originate from Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

. It has been claimed this meteorite contains evidence of Martian life in the form of micro-organisms.