Queen Maud Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Queen Maud Mountains are a major group of mountain
s, ranges
and subordinate features of the Transantarctic Mountains
, lying between the Beardmore
and Reedy Glacier
s and including the area from the head of the Ross Ice Shelf
to the polar plateau in Antarctica. Captain Roald Amundsen
and his South Pole
party ascended Axel Heiberg Glacier
near the central part of this group in November 1911, naming these mountains for Queen Maud of Norway
.
Elevations bordering the Beardmore Glacier, at the western extremity of these mountains, were observed by the British expeditions led by Ernest Shackleton
(1907-09) and Robert Falcon Scott
(1910-13), but the mountains as a whole were mapped by several American expeditions led by Richard Evelyn Byrd
(1930s and 1940s), and United States Antarctic Program
(USARP) and New Zealand Antarctic Research Program (NZARP) expeditions from the 1950s through the 1970s.
The Queen Maud Mountains is divided into the following ranges:
Mountain
Image: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...
s, ranges
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
and subordinate features 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...
, lying between the Beardmore
Beardmore Glacier
The Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica is one of the largest glaciers in the world, with a length exceeding 160 km . The glacier is one of the main passages from the Ross Ice Shelf through the Queen Alexandra and Commonwealth ranges of the Transantarctic Mountains to the Antarctic Plateau, and was one...
and Reedy Glacier
Reedy Glacier
The Reedy Glacier is a major glacier in Antarctica, over 160 km long and from 10 to 19 km wide, descending from the polar plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf between the Michigan Plateau and Wisconsin Range, and marking the limits of the Queen Maud Mountains on the west and the Horlick...
s and including the area from the head of 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...
to the polar plateau in Antarctica. Captain Roald Amundsen
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....
and his South Pole
South Pole
The 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...
party ascended Axel Heiberg Glacier
Axel Heiberg Glacier
The Axel Heiberg Glacier is a valley glacier, long, descending from the high-elevations of the Antarctic Plateau into the Ross Ice Shelf between the Herbert Range and Mount Don Pedro Christophersen in the Queen Maud Mountains....
near the central part of this group in November 1911, naming these mountains for Queen Maud of Norway
Maud of Wales
Princess Maud of Wales was Queen of Norway as spouse of King Haakon VII. She was a member of the British Royal Family as the youngest daughter of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark and granddaughter of Queen Victoria and also of Christian IX of Denmark. She was the younger sister of George V...
.
Elevations bordering the Beardmore Glacier, at the western extremity of these mountains, were observed by the British expeditions led by Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
(1907-09) and Robert Falcon Scott
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
(1910-13), but the mountains as a whole were mapped by several American expeditions led by Richard Evelyn Byrd
Richard Evelyn Byrd
Rear 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...
(1930s and 1940s), and United States Antarctic Program
United States Antarctic Program
United States Antarctic Program is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the continent of Antarctica. It co-ordinates research and the operational support for research in the region...
(USARP) and New Zealand Antarctic Research Program (NZARP) expeditions from the 1950s through the 1970s.
The Queen Maud Mountains is divided into the following ranges:
- Bush MountainsBush MountainsThe Bush Mountains is a series of rugged elevations at the heads of the Ramsey and Kosco glaciers in Antarctica.The Bush Mountains extend from Mount Weir in the west to Anderson Heights overlooking Shackleton Glacier in the east. They were photographed at a distance by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition...
- Commonwealth RangeCommonwealth RangeThe Commonwealth Range is a north-south trending range of rugged mountains, 100 km long, located on the continent of Antarctica. The range borders the eastern side of Beardmore Glacier from the Ross Ice Shelf to Keltie Glacier...
- Dominion RangeDominion RangeThe Dominion Range is a broad mountain range, about long, forming a prominent salient at the juncture of the Beardmore and Mill glaciers in Antarctica. The range is part of the Queen Maud Mountains...
- Gothic MountainsGothic MountainsThe Gothic Mountains is a group of mountains, long, in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica, located west of Watson Escarpment and bounded by Scott Glacier, Albanus Glacier, and Griffith Glacier. The mountains were first visited in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party...
- Herbert RangeHerbert RangeThe Herbert Range is a mountain range in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica, extending from the edge of the polar plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf between the Axel Heiberg and Strom glaciers....
- Prince Olav MountainsPrince Olav MountainsThe Prince Olav Mountains is a mountain range of the Queen Maud Mountains stretching from Shackleton Glacier to Liv Glacier at the head of the Ross Ice Shelf....
- Hughes RangeHughes Range (Antarctica)The Hughes Range is a high massive north-south trending mountain range in Antarctica, surmounted by six prominent summits, of which Mount Kaplan is the highest...
- Supporters RangeSupporters RangeThe Supporters Range is a rugged range of mountains in Antarctica, 40 km long, bordering the eastern side of Mill Glacier, from Keltie Glacier in the north to Mill Stream Glacier in the south....