Surprise Spur is a prominent spur

Spur (mountain)

A spur is a subsidiary summit of a hill or mountain. By definition, spurs have low topographic prominence, as they are lower than their parent summit and are closely connected to them on the same ridgeline...

, the northernmost of three spurs on the southwest side of Ackerman Ridge

Ackerman Ridge

Ackerman Ridge is a prominent rock ridge forming the northwest extremity of the La Gorce Mountains of the Queen Maud Mountains. Discovered and roughly mapped in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for...

 in the La Gorce Mountains

La Gorce Mountains

La Gorce Mountains is a group of mountains, 20 nautical miles long, standing between the tributary Robison and Klein Glaciers at the east side of the upper reaches of the Scott Glacier, in the Queen Maud Mountains...

 of Antarctica. First mapped by 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,...

 (USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-64. So named by New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition

New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition

The New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition describes a series of scientific explorations of the continent Antarctica. The expeditions were notably active in 1957-58 and again in 1958-59. The 1957-58 expedition went to the Ross Dependency and named the Borchgrevink Glacier...

(NZGSAE) (1969-70) because, in the middle of an extensive region of purely basement rocks, slightly altered sedimentary rocks which seem to belong to the much younger Beacon series appear on this spur.