Carlson Inlet is an ice-filled inlet

Inlet

An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...

, 100 miles (160.9 km) long and 25 miles (40.2 km) wide, lying between Fletcher Ice Rise

Fletcher Ice Rise

Fletcher Ice Rise , or Fletcher Promontory, is a large ice rise, 100 miles long and 40 miles wide, at the southwest side of Ronne Ice Shelf. The feature is completely ice covered and rises between Rutford Ice Stream and Carlson Inlet. The ice rise was observed, photographed and roughly sketched by...

 and Fowler Ice Rise

Fowler Ice Rise

Fowler Ice Rise is a very large Antarctic ice rise between Evans Ice Stream and Carlson Inlet, in the southwest part of Ronne Ice Shelf. The feature appears to be completely ice covered except for Haag Nunataks, which protrude above the surface in the northwest portion...

 in the southwest part of the Ronne Ice Shelf. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names

The 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...

 for Lieutenant Ronald F. Carlson, U.S. Navy, pilot of R4D-8 and C-130 aircraft with Squadron VX-6

VX-6

Air Development Squadron Six was a United States Navy Air Development Squadron based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica...

, who made innumerable flights in support of International Geophysical Year

International Geophysical Year

The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...

 and United States Antarctic Research Program field parties in the 1950s and 1960s. On December 14, 1961, he commanded a C-130 Hercules flight from McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...

 across the Ellsworth Mountains

Ellsworth Mountains

The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest mountain ranges in Antarctica, forming a long and wide chain of mountains in a north to south configuration on the western margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf. They are bisected by Minnesota Glacier to form the northern Sentinel Range and the southern Heritage...

, during which he observed, photographed and roughly sketched this inlet.