The Queen Alexandra Range (
84°00′S 168°00′E / 84.000°S 168.000°E / -84.000; 168.000 (Queen Alexandra Range ) ) is a major mountain range about 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) long, bordering the entire western side of
Beardmore Glacier from the
Polar Plateau to the
Ross Ice Shelf .
The range is in the
Transantarctic Mountains System, and is located in the
Ross Dependency region of
Antarctica .
Discovery
The Queen Alexandra Range was discovered on the journey toward the
South Pole by the
British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09 (BrAE), and was named by
Ernest Shackleton for
Queen Alexandra , Queen of the United Kingdom, 1901-10.
Shackleton and his men, and a later expedition headed by
Robert Falcon Scott , both collected rock samples from the range that contained
fossils . The discovery that multicellular life forms had lived so close to the South Pole was an additional piece of evidence that accompanied the publication (in 1910 and independently in 1912) of the theory of
continental drift .[
citation needed ]
Location
The Queen Alexandra Range is bounded by the Beardmore Glacier along its southeast edge, which divides it from the
Commonwealth Range of the
Queen Maud Mountains to the east.
The west of the range is bounded by the
Antarctic Plateau in the south.
Further north it is bounded by the
Walcott Névé to the east, which separates the range from the
Colbert Hills .
The Walcott Névé joins the
Law Glacier in the
Bowden Névé which feeds the
Lennox-King Glacier .
This glacier bounds the northwest part of the range, and separates it from the
Holland Range to the north.
The northern tip of the range extends to the
Ross Ice Shelf between the Lennox King Glaciers and Beardmore Glacier.
[3]
Major glaciers
Beardmore Glacier (
83°45′S 171°00′E / 83.750°S 171.000°E / -83.750; 171.000 (Beardmore Glacier ) ) is of the largest known valley glaciers, over 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) long, descending the polar plateau and flowing north between the Queen Alexandra Range and
Commonwealth Range , to enter the Ross Ice Shelf.
Law Glacier (
84°05′S 161°00′E / 84.083°S 161.000°E / -84.083; 161.000 (Law Glacier ) ) is a glacier about 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) wide between the south end of the
Queen Elizabeth Range and the
MacAlpine Hills , gradually descending east-northeast from the polar plateau to
Bowden Névé .
Bowden Névé
83°30′S 165°00′E / 83.500°S 165.000°E / -83.500; 165.000 (Bowden Névé ) is a
névé about 20 miles (32 km) wide, lying southward of
Mount Miller between Queen Elizabeth Range and Queen Alexandra Range.
Walcott Névé
84°23′S 162°40′E / 84.383°S 162.667°E / -84.383; 162.667 (Walcott Névé ) is a névé, about 350 square miles (910 km2 ) in area, bounded by the
Marshall Mountains ,
Lewis Cliff and
Mount Sirius .
Lennox-King Glacier (
83°25′S 168°00′E / 83.417°S 168.000°E / -83.417; 168.000 (Lennox-King Glacier ) ) is a large valley glacier, about 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) long, draining Bowden Névé and flowing northeast between the Holland Range and Queen Alexandra Ranges to enter
Richards Inlet , Ross Ice Shelf.
Mountains and peaks
Northern part of range in south of map. Lennox King Glacier (west), Beardmore Glacier (East)
Southern part of range, west of Beardmore Glacier
Mountains and peaks over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) high include:
Mountain
m
ft
coord
Mount Kirkpatrick
4,528
14,856
84°20′S 166°25′E / 84.333°S 166.417°E / -84.333; 166.417 (Mount Kirkpatrick )
Mount Elizabeth
4,480
14,698
(
83°54′S 168°23′E / 83.900°S 168.383°E / -83.900; 168.383 (Mount Elizabeth )
Mount Bell
4,305
14,124
84°04′S 167°30′E / 84.067°S 167.500°E / -84.067; 167.500 (Mount Bell )
Mount Mackellar
4,295
14,091
83°59′S 166°39′E / 83.983°S 166.650°E / -83.983; 166.650 (Mount Mackellar )
Fleming Summit
4,200
13,780
84°20′00″S 166°18′00″E / 84.33333°S 166.3°E / -84.33333; 166.3 (Fleming Summit )
Mount Dickerson
4,120
13,517
84°20′S 167°08′E / 84.333°S 167.133°E / -84.333; 167.133 (Mount Dickerson )
Decennial Peak
4,020
13,189
84°22′S 166°02′E / 84.367°S 166.033°E / -84.367; 166.033 (Decennial Peak )
Mount Anne
3,870
12,697
83°48′S 168°30′E / 83.800°S 168.500°E / -83.800; 168.500 (Mount Anne )
Mount Falla
3,825
12,549
84°22′S 164°55′E / 84.367°S 164.917°E / -84.367; 164.917 (Mount Falla )
Tempest Peak
3,410
11,188
84°31′S 164°11′E / 84.517°S 164.183°E / -84.517; 164.183 (Tempest Peak )
Blizzard Peak
3,375
11,073
84°38′S 164°08′E / 84.633°S 164.133°E / -84.633; 164.133 (Blizzard Peak )
Barnes Peak
3,360
11,024
84°23′S 167°34′E / 84.383°S 167.567°E / -84.383; 167.567 (Barnes Peak )
Storm Peak
3,280
10,761
84°35′S 164°00′E / 84.583°S 164.000°E / -84.583; 164.000 (Storm Peak )
Mount Stanley
3,220
10,564
84°09′S 165°29′E / 84.150°S 165.483°E / -84.150; 165.483 (Mount Stanley )
Lindsay Peak
3,210
10,531
84°37′S 163°32′E / 84.617°S 163.533°E / -84.617; 163.533 (Lindsay Peak )
Mount Marshall
3,160
10,367
84°41′S 164°39′E / 84.683°S 164.650°E / -84.683; 164.650 (Mount Marshall )
Pagoda Peak
3,040
9,974
83°56′S 166°45′E / 83.933°S 166.750°E / -83.933; 166.750 (Pagoda Peak )
Mount Price
3,030
9,941
84°29′S 166°38′E / 84.483°S 166.633°E / -84.483; 166.633 (Mount Price) )
Mount Bishop
3,020
9,908
83°43′S 168°42′E / 83.717°S 168.700°E / -83.717; 168.700 (Mount Bishop )
Kip Peak
3,000
9,843
84°31′00″S 164°28′00″E / 84.5167°S 164.46667°E / -84.5167; 164.46667 (Kip Peak )
Features
Major features that are the focus of a named or unnamed group of lesser features, include:
Morris Heights (
83°28′S 169°42′E / 83.467°S 169.700°E / -83.467; 169.700 (Morris Heights ) ), a relatively smooth ice-covered heights, forming a peninsula-like divide between
Beaver Glacier and
King Glacier at the north end of the Queen Alexandra Range.
Mount Elizabeth (
83°54′S 168°23′E / 83.900°S 168.383°E / -83.900; 168.383 (Mount Elizabeth ) ), a massive ice-free mountain, 4,480 metres (14,700 ft) high, standing 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) south of
Mount Anne .
Mount Mackellar (
83°59′S 166°39′E / 83.983°S 166.650°E / -83.983; 166.650 (Mount Mackellar ) ), a massive mountain, 4,295 metres (14,091 ft) high, standing at the head of
Mackellar Glacier , 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) south of
Pagoda Peak .
Grindley Plateau (
84°9′S 166°5′E / 84.150°S 166.083°E / -84.150; 166.083 (Grindley Plateau ) ), a high icecapped plateau in the central Queen Alexandra Range, bordered by the peaks of
Mount Mackellar ,
Mount Bell and
Mount Kirkpatrick .
The Cloudmaker (
84°17′S 169°25′E / 84.283°S 169.417°E / -84.283; 169.417 (The Cloudmaker ) ), a massive mountain, 2,680 metres (8,790 ft) high, standing at the west side of
Beardmore Glacier , just south of
Hewson Glacier . It is easily identifiable by its high, ice-free slope facing Beardmore Glacier.
Mount Kirkpatrick (
84°20′S 166°25′E / 84.333°S 166.417°E / -84.333; 166.417 (Mount Kirkpatrick ) ), a lofty, generally ice-free mountain in Queen Alexandra Range 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) west of Mount Dickerson. At 4,528 metres (14,856 ft) it is the highest point in the Queen Alexandra Range.
Adams Mountains (
84°30′S 166°20′E / 84.500°S 166.333°E / -84.500; 166.333 (Adams Mountains ) ), a small but well defined group of mountains bounded by the
Beardmore Glacier ,
Berwick Glacier ,
Moody Glacier and
Bingley Glacier .
Mount Falla (
84°22′S 164°55′E / 84.367°S 164.917°E / -84.367; 164.917 (Mount Falla ) ), a prominent conical mountain, 3,825 metres (12,549 ft) high, standing 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km; 4.0 mi) northeast of
Mount Stonehouse , between
Berwick Glacier and
Prebble Glacier .
Marshall Mountains (
84°37′S 164°30′E / 84.617°S 164.500°E / -84.617; 164.500 (Marshall Mountains ) ), a group of mountains overlooking
Beardmore Glacier . They are bounded on the north by
Berwick Glacier , and on the south by
Swinford Glacier .
References
Sources
Alberts, Fred G., ed. (1995),
Geographic Names of the Antarctic (PDF) (2 ed.), United States Board on Geographic Names, retrieved 2023-12-03 This article incorporates
public domain material from websites or documents of the
United States Board on Geographic Names .
Buckley Island , USGS: United States Geological Survey, retrieved 2024-03-16
Mount Elizabeth , USGS: United States Geological Survey, retrieved 2024-03-16
"Queen Alexandra Range" , Peakbagger , retrieved 25 May 2017
The Cloudmaker , USGS: United States Geological Survey, retrieved 2024-03-16