Ellsworth Mountains

Ellsworth Mountains
Ellsworth Mountains
	Mount Vinson; Nimitz Glacier in the foreground
Highest point
Peak	Mount Vinson
Elevation	4,892 m (16,050 ft)
Coordinates	78°31′31.74″S 85°37′01.73″W / 78.5254833°S 85.6171472°W
Dimensions
Length	360 km (220 mi) NNW-SSE
Width	48 km (30 mi) WE
Geography
	Ellsworth Mountains Location of Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica
Continent	Antarctica
Land	Ellsworth Land
Range coordinates	78°45′S 85°00′W / 78.750°S 85.000°W

The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest

British

ones.

Discovery

The mountains were discovered on November 23, 1935, by the American explorer Lincoln Ellsworth in the course of a trans-Antarctic flight from Dundee Island to the Ross Ice Shelf. He gave them the descriptive name Sentinel Range.^[1]

The mountains were mapped in detail by the

U.S. Navy aerial photography, 1958–1966. When it became evident that the mountains comprise two distinct ranges, the US-ACAN restricted the application of Sentinel Range to the high northern one and gave the name Heritage Range to the southern one; the Committee recommended the name of the discoverer for this entire group of mountains.^[1]

Geology

Geologically, the Ellsworth Mountains occupy a discrete block of

strata, which accumulated on Grenville-age continental crust. It was likely once part of the Cape Fold Belt that was detached from southern Africa during the breakup of Gondwana and later incorporated into Antarctica.^[3]^[4]

The

uplift.^[3]

Climate

The temperatures in the Ellsworth Mountains average around -30 °C (-20 °F). The best time for expeditions are November through January, mid-summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Arranging an outing here is a difficult task, requiring either official scientific sponsorship or considerable financial resources.

Maps

Northern Sentinel Range, USGS map
Central and southern Sentinel Range, USGS map
Northern Heritage Range, USGS map
Southern Heritage Range, USGS map

Antarctic Digital Database (ADD). Scale 1:250000 topographic map of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Since 1993, regularly updated.

Gallery

The central part of the mountains with Vinson Plateau, NASA satellite image
Mount Gardner
Mount Press
Mount Shinn
Mount Tyree
Mount Vinson

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Ellsworth Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 6 May 2004.
^ Bockheim, J.G., Schaefer, C.E., 2015. Soils of Ellsworth Land, the Ellsworth Mountains. In: Bockheim, J.G. (Ed.), The Soils of Antarctica. World Soils Book Series, Springer, Switzerland, pp. 169–181.
^
ISBN 0813711703
.

^ Craddock, J.P., Schmitz, M.D., Crowley, J.L., Larocque, J., Pankhurst, R.J., Juda, N., Konstantinou, A. and Storey, B., 2017. Precise U-Pb zircon ages and geochemistry of Jurassic granites, Ellsworth-Whitmore terrane, central Antarctica. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 129(1-2), pp.118-136.

External links

[gnis-1] "Ellsworth Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 6 May 2004.

[BockheimOthers2015-2] Bockheim, J.G., Schaefer, C.E., 2015. Soils of Ellsworth Land, the Ellsworth Mountains. In: Bockheim, J.G. (Ed.), The Soils of Antarctica. World Soils Book Series, Springer, Switzerland, pp. 169–181.

[WeberOthers1992a-3] 
ISBN 0813711703
.

[CraddockOthers2017a-4] Craddock, J.P., Schmitz, M.D., Crowley, J.L., Larocque, J., Pankhurst, R.J., Juda, N., Konstantinou, A. and Storey, B., 2017. Precise U-Pb zircon ages and geochemistry of Jurassic granites, Ellsworth-Whitmore terrane, central Antarctica. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 129(1-2), pp.118-136.

[1]

[3]

[4]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Germany Israel United States