Mountain range in Antarctica
The Queen Elizabeth Range (
83°20′S 161°30′E / 83.333°S 161.500°E / -83.333; 161.500 (Queen Elizabeth Range ) ) is a rugged mountain range that parallels the eastern side of
Marsh Glacier for nearly 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) from
Nimrod Glacier in the north to
Law Glacier in the south.
Mount Markham , 4,350 metres (14,270 ft) high, is the highest elevation in the range.
Name
The Queen Elizabeth Range was named by J.H. Miller of the
New Zealand party of the
Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE; 1956–58) who, with G.W. Marsh, explored this area.
It was named for Queen
Elizabeth II of Great Britain, the patron of the expedition.
Location
Northern part of Queen Elizabeth Range to the south of Nimrod Glacier
Southern part of Queen Elizabeth Range
The Queen Elizabeth Range is bounded to the north by the
Nimrod Glacier , which separates it from the
Churchill Mountains and
Nash Range .
To the east the
Lowery Glacier and
Robb Glacier separate it from the
Holland Range .
The
Law Glacier to the south separates its from the
Colbert Hills and
Queen Alexandra Range .
The
Marsh Glacier separates it from the
Miller Range to the west.
[2]
Major glaciers
Nimrod Glacier (
82°21′S 163°00′E / 82.350°S 163.000°E / -82.350; 163.000 (Nimrod Glacier ) ), a major glacier, about 85 nautical miles (157 km; 98 mi) long, flowing from the polar plateau in a northerly direction between the
Geologists Range and
Miller Range , then northeasterly between the
Churchill Mountains and Queen Elizabeth Range, and finally spilling into
Shackleton Inlet and the
Ross Ice Shelf between
Cape Wilson and
Cape Lyttelton .
Lowery Glacier (
82°35′S 163°15′E / 82.583°S 163.250°E / -82.583; 163.250 (Lowery Glacier ) ), a glacier about 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) long, which flows north from
Prince Andrew Plateau along the east side of Queen Elizabeth Range to enter Nimrod Glacier.
Robb Glacier (
82°38′S 165°00′E / 82.633°S 165.000°E / -82.633; 165.000 (Robb Glacier ) ), a glacier about 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) long, flowing from
Clarkson Peak north along the east side of
Softbed Ridges to the Ross Ice Shelf at
Cape Goldie .
Law Glacier (
84°05′S 161°00′E / 84.083°S 161.000°E / -84.083; 161.000 (Law Glacier ) ), a glacier about 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) wide between the south end of Queen Elizabeth Range and the
MacAlpine Hills , gradually descending east-north-east from the polar plateau to
Bowden Névé .
Marsh Glacier (
82°52′S 158°30′E / 82.867°S 158.500°E / -82.867; 158.500 (Marsh Glacier ) ), a glacier about 70 nautical miles (130 km; 81 mi) long, flowing north from the
polar plateau between the Miller Range and Queen Elizabeth Range into Nimrod Glacier.
Features
Prominent features or groups of features include:
Cotton Plateau (
82°54′S 159°40′E / 82.900°S 159.667°E / -82.900; 159.667 (Cotton Plateau ) ), a snow-covered plateau just east of the mouth of
Marsh Glacier .
Svaton Peaks (
82°35′S 161°00′E / 82.583°S 161.000°E / -82.583; 161.000 (Svaton Peaks ) ), a cluster of rugged peaks at the north end of the Queen Elizabeth Range, surmounting the area between the mouths of the
Heilman Glacier and
Otago Glacier .
Sherwin Peak (
82°37′S 161°48′E / 82.617°S 161.800°E / -82.617; 161.800 (Sherwin Peak ) ), a peak, 2,290 metres (7,510 ft) high, surmounting the east side of
Otago Glacier 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) southeast of Mount Chivers, in the north part of the Queen Elizabeth Range.
Mount Markham (
82°51′S 161°21′E / 82.850°S 161.350°E / -82.850; 161.350 (Mount Markham ) ), a majestic twin-peaked massif surmounting the north end of the Markham Plateau. The peaks have elevations of 4,350 metres (14,270 ft) and 4,280 metres (14,040 ft).
Frigate Range (
82°48′S 162°20′E / 82.800°S 162.333°E / -82.800; 162.333 (Frigate Range ) ), a high mountain range extending 12 nautical miles (22 km) east from
Mount Markham in the
Queen Elizabeth Range of Antarctica.
Mount Rabot (
83°11′S 161°17′E / 83.183°S 161.283°E / -83.183; 161.283 (Mount Rabot ) ), a mountain, 3,335 metres (10,942 ft) high, standing 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) southeast of Mount Lecointe.
Moore Mountains (
83°21′S 160°45′E / 83.350°S 160.750°E / -83.350; 160.750 (Moore Mountains ) ), a small but conspicuous group of mountains just north of New Year Pass in the
Queen Elizabeth Range in Antarctica.
Ārai Terraces (
83°12′S 163°36′E / 83.200°S 163.600°E / -83.200; 163.600 (Ārai Terraces ) ), a series of crevassed terraces and icefalls close southward of Fazekas Hills, near the head of
Lowery Glacier .
Prince Andrew Plateau (
83°38′S 162°00′E / 83.633°S 162.000°E / -83.633; 162.000 (Prince Andrew Plateau ) ), an ice-covered plateau, about 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) long and 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) wide, lying south of
Mount Rabot .
Peletier Plateau (
83°55′S 159°40′E / 83.917°S 159.667°E / -83.917; 159.667 (Peletier Plateau ) ), an ice-covered plateau, about 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) long and 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) wide, forming the southern part of Queen Elizabeth Range.
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 2024-01-03
Mount Rabot , USGS: United States Geological Survey, retrieved 2024-01-03
Nimrod Glacier , USGS: United States Geological Survey, retrieved 2024-01-03
This article incorporates
public domain material from websites or documents of the
United States Geological Survey .