The Cordiner Peaks are a group of peaks extending over an area of 6 miles (10 km), standing 8 miles (12.9 km) southwest of Dufek Massif

Dufek Massif

Dufek Massif is a range of peaks in the Pensacola Mountains of Antarctica, centered at . It covers and its highest point is England Peak . It is named for Rear Admiral George J. Dufek who participated in the exploration of the Antarctic in the mid-twentieth century. Dufek Coast, Dufek Head, and...

 in the northern part of the Pensacola Mountains

Pensacola Mountains

The Pensacola Mountains are a large group of mountain ranges and peaks in Antarctica, extending 450 km in a NE-SW direction, comprising the Argentina Range, Forrestal Range, Dufek Massif, Cordiner Peaks, Neptune Range, Patuxent Range, Rambo Nunataks and Pecora Escarpment...

. They were discovered and photographed on January 13, 1956 in the course of a transcontinental nonstop plane flight by personnel of U.S. Navy Operation Deep Freeze I

Operation Deep Freeze

Operation 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...

 from McMurdo Sound

McMurdo Sound

The ice-clogged waters of Antarctica's McMurdo Sound extend about 55 km long and wide. The sound opens into the Ross Sea to the north. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 13,205 feet on the western shoreline. The nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf scribes McMurdo Sound's southern boundary...

 to the Weddell Sea

Weddell Sea

The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...

 and return. They were 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 Captain Douglas L. Cordiner, U.S. Navy, an observer on the P2V-2N Neptune aircraft making this flight. The entire Pensacola Mountains were mapped by the United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The 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,...

in 1967 and 1968 from ground surveys and from U.S. Navy tricamera aerial photographs taken in 1964.