Mt Lister, Royal Society Range, Antarctica

Royal Society Range, South Side, Victoria Land, Antarctica

The Royal Society Range () is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Antarctic Plateau. I ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. With its summit at , the massive

Mount Lister Mount Lister is a massive mountain, high, forming the highest point in the Royal Society Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–1904) which named it for Lord Joseph Lister, Pre ...

forms the highest point in this range. Mount Lister is located along the western shore of

McMurdo Sound McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo ...

between the Koettlitz, Skelton and Ferrar glaciers. Other notable local terrain features include

Allison Glacier Allison Glacier () is an ice stream on the west side of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Allison Glacier flows from Big Ben massif down to the sea to the south of Cape Gazert. To the north of Allison Glacier is Vahsel Glacier, whose ...

, which descends from the west slopes of the Royal Society Range into Skelton Glacier.

Discovery and naming

The range was probably first seen by Captain

James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer known for his explorations of the Arctic, participating in two expeditions led by his uncle John Ross, and four led by William Edwa ...

in 1841. The range was explored by the

British National Antarctic Expedition The ''Discovery'' Expedition of 1901–1904, known officially as the British National Antarctic Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since the voyage of James Clark Ross sixty years earlier (1839–184 ...

(BrNAE) under

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

, who named the range after the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and applied names of its members to many of its peaks. For example, Mount Lister was named for Lord Joseph Lister, President of the Royal Society, 1895–1900. The Royal Society provided financial support to the expedition and its members had assisted on the committee which organized the expedition.

Geology

The Royal Society Range consists of a Precambrian igneous and meta-igneous

basement complex In geology, basement and crystalline basement are crystalline rocks lying above the mantle and beneath all other rocks and sediments. They are sometimes exposed at the surface, but often they are buried under miles of rock and sediment. The baseme ...

overlain by Devonian- to

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

-age

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s, siltstones and conglomerates of the

Beacon Supergroup The Beacon Supergroup is a geological formation exposed in Antarctica and deposited from the Devonian to the Triassic (). The unit was originally described as either a formation or sandstone, and upgraded to group and supergroup as time passed. It ...

which dip shallowly westward away from the Ross Sea coast.Sugden, D.E., Summerfield, M.A., Denton, G.H., Wilch, T.I., McIntosh, W.C., Marchant, D.R., and Rutford, R.H., 1999
Landscape development in the Royal Society Range, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica: stability since the mid-MioceneGeomorphology
v. 28, p. 181-200. The entire region is cut by north–south trending longitudinal faults, east–west trending transverse faults, and structurally related

dike swarm A dike swarm (American spelling) or dyke swarm (British spelling) is a large geological structure consisting of a major group of parallel, linear, or radially oriented magmatic dikes intruded within continental crust or central volcanoes ...

Tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...

and fluvial activity have featured very heavily in the recent geologic history of the Royal Society Range. Following the extension of the Ross Sea Basin (c. 55 million years ago), an episode of uplift drove the creation of the Royal Society Range rift flank. At this time a tectonic (though ''not'' accretionary) wedge, up to 6 km thick on the coast, was present, though it quickly began to erode due primarily to fluvial processes, and the Royal Society Range was cut down near to its present appearance by the mid-Miocene. Relatively limited glacial action since that time has preserved much of the fluvial architecture of the Range, and though uplift did not cease, its magnitude is such that it has not drastically affected the landscape, having progressed only 67 meters in the last 8 million years.

Koettlitz Glacier Alkaline Province

Neoproterozoic The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time from 1 billion to 538.8 million years ago. It is the last era of the Precambrian Supereon and the Proterozoic Eon; it is subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran periods. It is prec ...

tectonic extension along the edge of the East Antarctic Craton between the Skelton and Koettlitz Glaciers resulted in the emplacement of coarse grained alkaline igneous intrusive rocks (ranging from gabbro to A-type granite). This area of alkaline intrusives is referred to as the Koettlitz Glacier Alkaline Province Ross Orogeny Cambrian tectonic convergence, continental collision and plate subduction led to the emplacement of calc-alkaline and adakitic granitoids. This period of mountain building is referred to as the Ross Orogeny.

Volcanic history

The Royal Society Range contains over 50 basaltic vents, ranging in size from tiny mounds to cinder cones up to 300 meters (985 feet) high. Dating of surface material indicates they were active earlier than 15 million years ago (e.g. Heald Island) and as recently as 80,000 years ago, with glacier-bound

tephra Tephra is fragmental material produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism. Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, they re ...

layers suggesting even more recent

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

activity. The vast majority of vents are located in the foothills of the Royal Society mountains just north of

Koettlitz Glacier Koettlitz Glacier is a large Antarctic glacier lying west of Mount Morning and Mount Discovery in the Royal Society Range, flowing from the vicinity of Mount Cocks northeastward between Brown Peninsula and the mainland into the ice shelf of Mc ...

, and most are Quaternary in age. Most emanating flows are 3–10 meters thick and less than 4 kilometers long. The composition, with very few exceptions, is porphyritic basanite with primarily

olivine The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers quickl ...

and

clinopyroxene The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated to ''Px'') are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes have the general formula , where X represents calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron (Fe I ...

phenocrysts, though some phenocrystic

plagioclase Plagioclase is a series of tectosilicate (framework silicate) minerals within the feldspar group. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a continuous solid solution series, more pro ...

is also present.Wright, A.C., and Kyle, P.R., 1990, Royal Society Range Summary, ''in'' LeMasurier, W.E., and Thomson, J.W., eds., Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans: Washington, DC
American Geophysical Union
Antarctic Research Series, v. 48, p. 81-88.

Features

* Abbott Spur *

Amphitheatre Glacier Amphitheatre Glacier () is a moraine-covered glacier that flows north from The Amphitheatre into Roaring Valley, in the Royal Society Range of Antarctica. It was named by a New Zealand Geographical Society field party in the area, 1977–7 ...

* Anne Hill *

Auster Pass Auster Pass () is a high pass in the Royal Society Range, between Mount Huggins and Mount Kempe, leading into the Skelton Glacier area from McMurdo Sound (in New Zealand) . It was named by the New Zealand Northern Survey Party of the Commonwealth Tr ...

* Ball Glacier * Baronick Glacier * Battleship *

Berry Spur Berry Spur () is a mostly ice-covered spur in Antarctica, located between McDermott Glacier and Comberiate Glacier on the west side of the Royal Society Range, Victoria Land. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after Russell ...

* Bindschadler Glacier * Bishop Peak * Boom Basin * Borg Bastion * Brandau Crater * Bubble Spur *

Carleton Glacier Carleton Glacier () is a glacier which drains the northwest slopes of Mount Lister in the Royal Society Range in Victoria Land, Antarctica and flows north into the Emmanuel Glacier. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from ground ...

Cathedral Rocks The Cathedral Rocks () are a series of four abrupt cliffs interspersed by short glaciers and surmounted by sharp peaks. The cliffs extend for along the south side of Ferrar Glacier and form part of the north shoulder of the Royal Society Range, ...

* Chancellor Ridge *

Chaplains Tableland Chaplains Tableland () is a high tableland just north of Mount Lister in the Royal Society Range. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names in 1963 in honor of the chaplains who have served in Antarctica, primarily at McMurdo Station ...

* Columnar Valley *

Comberiate Glacier Comberiate Glacier () is a glacier flowing west from the Royal Society Range between Berry Spur and Utz Spur. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory comm ...

Copland Pass The Copland Pass (el. ) is an alpine pass in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Known as Noti Hinetamatea by the indigenous Ngāi Tahu, the pass follows the route of the Makaawhio ancestor Hinetamatea and her sons Tātāwhākā and Marupeka. ...

Covert Glacier Covert Glacier () is a glacier flowing from the northeast part of the Royal Society Range between Pearsall Ridge and Stoner Peak, joining the Blue Glacier drainage in the vicinity of Granite Knolls, Victoria Land. It was named in 1992 by the Advis ...

* Craw Ridge *

Dale Glacier Skelton Glacier is a large glacier flowing from the polar plateau into the Ross Ice Shelf at Skelton Inlet on the Hillary Coast, south of Victoria Land, Antarctica. Discovery and naming Named after the Skelton Inlet by the New Zealand party of ...

* Dot Cliff * Dromedary Glacier *

Emmanuel Glacier __NOTOC__ Ferrar Glacier is a glacier in Antarctica. It is about long, flowing from the plateau of Victoria Land west of the Royal Society Range to New Harbour in McMurdo Sound. The glacier makes a right (east) turn northeast of Knobhead, where ...

* Engebretson Peak *

Ferrar Glacier __NOTOC__ Ferrar Glacier is a glacier in Antarctica. It is about long, flowing from the plateau of Victoria Land west of the Royal Society Range to New Harbour in McMurdo Sound. The glacier makes a right (east) turn northeast of Knobhead, where ...

Fisher Bastion Fisher Bastion () is a high rectangular massif, high, between the upper reaches of Potter Glacier and Foster Glacier, southeast of Mount Huggins in the Royal Society Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named by the Advisory Committee on A ...

Fogle Peak Fogle Peak () is a distinctive pointed peak, high, standing at the head of Kamb Glacier in the Royal Society Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named in 1992 by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after Benson Fogle, Program Manager ...

Foster Glacier Koettlitz Glacier is a large Antarctic glacier lying west of Mount Morning and Mount Discovery in the Royal Society Range, flowing from the vicinity of Mount Cocks northeastward between Brown Peninsula and the mainland into the ice shelf of McM ...

Frio Peak Frio Peak () is a peak high located east of Salient Peak on Salient Ridge, in the Royal Society Range, Victoria Land, Antarctica. The name was suggested by K. Brodie, a member of R.H. Findlay's New Zealand Antarctic Research Program field p ...

Frostbite Spine Frostbite Spine () is a prominent ridge, long, between Hooker Glacier and Salient Glacier on the east side of the Royal Society Range, Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named by the New Zealand Antarctic Place-Names Committee from a proposal by ...

* Harvey Summit *

Heke Peak Heke Peak () is a peak high on the ridge that forms the south wall of Mitchell Glacier near the glacier head, in the Royal Society Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named in 1993 by the New Zealand Geographic Board after Randal Heke, th ...

* Henderson Pyramid * Highway Ridge * Hofmann Spur * Hooker Glacier * Hooper Crags * Horseshoe Crater *

Howchin Glacier Koettlitz Glacier is a large Antarctic glacier lying west of Mount Morning and Mount Discovery in the Royal Society Range, flowing from the vicinity of Mount Cocks northeastward between Brown Peninsula and the mainland into the ice shelf of McMurdo ...

Ibarra Peak Ibarra Peak () is the summit at the extremity of the ridge which extends eastwards from the Royal Society Range between Mitchell Glacier and Lister Glacier, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named in 1992 by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic ...

Inan Peak Inan Peak () is a peak rising to west of Mount Kempe in the Royal Society Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names in 1994 named after Umran Inan of Stanford University, who has conducted critic ...

* Jezek Glacier * Jigsaw Rock Gut *

Johns Hopkins Ridge Johns Hopkins Ridge () is a prominent ridge of the Royal Society Range, Antarctica, running northward from Mount Rucker for . It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from ground surveys and Navy air photos, and was named by the Adviso ...

Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 182710 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative medicine. Joseph Lister revolutionised the craft of ...

Kamb Glacier Kamb Glacier () is a broad elevated glacier, ) long, in the Royal Society Range, Victoria Land, Antarctica, flowing northeast from Fogle Peak to enter Condit Glacier. It was named in 1992 by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after glaciol ...

Kenney Nunatak Kenney Nunatak () is a conspicuous nunatak rising in Waddington Glacier, south-southwest of Ugolini Peak, in the Royal Society Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names in 1994 after Frank J. ...

* Lava Tongue Pass * Lettau Peak *

Lister Glacier Lister Glacier () is a glacier on the east side of the Royal Society Range in Antarctica, draining northeast from a large cirque immediately north of Mount Lister. It derives its name from Mount Lister, and was surveyed in 1957 by the New Zealan ...

* Lower Jaw Glacier * Maine Ridge * Margaret Hill *

Matataua Glacier Matataua Glacier, formerly Marchant Glacier () is a glacier, about long, which drains the slopes of Rampart Ridge between Mount Bishop and Mount Potter and flows northwest to the vicinity of Mount Bockheim, in the Royal Society Range, Victori ...

* Mata Taua Peak *

McConchie Ridge Mount Lister is a massive mountain, high, forming the highest point in the Royal Society Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–1904) which named it for Lord Joseph Lister, Pre ...

* McDermott Glacier *

McMurdo Dry Valleys The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of largely snow-free valleys in Antarctica, located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The Dry Valleys experience extremely low humidity and surrounding mountains prevent the flow of ice from nearby ...

Mitchell Glacier Mitchell Glacier is a glacier which descends steeply from Chaplains Tableland in the northeast of the Royal Society Range, Victoria Land, Antarctica, flowing east-northeast between Transit Ridge and Ibarra Peak to join the Blue Glacier drainage s ...

* Mount Bockheim *

Mount Chiang Mount Lister is a massive mountain, high, forming the highest point in the Royal Society Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–1904) which named it for Lord Joseph Lister, 1st ...

Mount Cocks Mount Cocks in Antarctica is a mountain at the head of the Koettlitz Glacier in southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The summit, which is ASL, is NNE of the junction of the Cocks and Skelton Glaciers at the southern end of the Royal Society Rang ...

* Mount Duvall * Mount Essinger *

Mount Fuller Mount Fuller () is a peak in the Cathedral Rocks, Royal Society Range, rising to between the lower portions of Zoller Glacier and Darkowski Glacier in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named in 1992 by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names ...

* Mount Hooker *

Mount Huggins Mount Huggins () is a large conical mountain, high, surmounting the heads of Allison Glacier, Dale Glacier, and Potter Glacier in the Royal Society Range of Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–0 ...

* Mount Huxle * Mount Kempe * Mount Lisicky *

* Mount Mignone * Mount Moxley *

Mount Rucker Mount Rucker is a mountain, , immediately south of Johns Hopkins Ridge in the Royal Society Range of Victoria Land. Discovered by the Discovery Expedition (1901–04) which named it for Sir Arthur Rucker, Honorary Secretary of the Royal Society. ...

* Mount Schwerdtfeger * Mount Stearns *

Mount Windle Mount Windle () is an ice-covered peak rising to 1,970 m on the south side of Ferrar Glacier. It surmounts the most western massif of Cathedral Rocks in the north part of Royal Society Range, Victoria Land. Named in 1992 by Advisory Commit ...

* Murcray Heights * Murihau Peak * Navajo Butte *

Pearsall Ridge Pearsall Ridge () is a ridge, for the most part ice-covered, which extends east-northeast from Royal Society Range between Descent Pass and Covert Glacier, in Victoria Land. Named in 1992 by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) after Ri ...

* Platform Spur *

Potter Glacier Skelton Glacier is a large glacier flowing from the polar plateau into the Ross Ice Shelf at Skelton Inlet on the Hillary Coast, south of Victoria Land, Antarctica. Discovery and naming Named after the Skelton Inlet by the New Zealand party of ...

* Poutini Peak *

Puke Toropa Mountain Puke Toropa Mountain is a mostly ice-covered mountain in the Royal Society Range of Antarctica. It stands high and is situated south of Mount Rücker. It was named by the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) in 1994. Its name is Māori Māori or ...

* Radian Glacier * Rampart Ridge * Rester Peak *

* Rucker Ridge *

Rutgers Glacier Rutgers Glacier () is a steep glacier on the west side of the Royal Society Range in the Ross Dependency, Antarctica. Rutgers Glacier descends southwest from Johns Hopkins Ridge and Mount Rucker to enter the Skelton Glacier. Abbott Spur separat ...

Salient Glacier Salient Glacier () is a glacier on the east side of the Royal Society Range, draining northeast into the head of the Blue Glacier from the slopes of Salient Peak. Surveyed in 1957 by the New Zealand Blue Glacier Party of the Commonwealth Trans-Anta ...

Salient Peak Salient Peak () is a buttressed peak of the Royal Society Range between Mounts Rucker and Hooker. A ridge descends eastward from it and forms the watershed between tributaries of the Blue Glacier on the north and Walcott Glacier on the south. So ...

Salient Ridge Salient Ridge () is a prominent ridge, 6 nautical miles (11 km) long, extending east-northeast from Salient Peak along the south side of Salient Glacier in Royal Society Range, Victoria Land. Named in association with the peak and glacier ...

* Shupe Peak *

Skelton Glacier Skelton Glacier is a large glacier flowing from the polar plateau into the Ross Ice Shelf at Skelton Inlet on the Hillary Coast, south of Victoria Land, Antarctica. Discovery and naming Named after the Skelton Inlet by the New Zealand party ...

* Skelton Névé * Sladen Summit *

Solomon Glacier Solomon Glacier () is a glacier on the south side of Fisher Bastion which flows west from Solomon Saddle to enter Potter Glacier in the Royal Society Range, Victoria Land. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) in 1994 after Susa ...

Solomon Saddle Solomon Saddle () is a snow saddle (elevation 1,850 m) located between the heads of Solomon Glacier and Foster Glacier, to the south of Fisher Bastion in the Royal Society Range, Victoria Land, Antarctica. The snow saddle was named by the Adviso ...

* Sphinx Valley *

Spring Glacier Spring Glacier () is a glacier flowing from the northeast portion of Royal Society Range between Stoner Peak and Transit Ridge, joining the Blue Glacier (Antarctica), Blue Glacier drainage south of Granite Knolls, in Victoria Land. Named in 1992 by ...

* Stoner Peak *

Tasman Ridge Tasman Ridge () is a ridge, 3 nautical miles (6 km) long, located 10 nautical miles (18 km) northeast of Mount Hooker, bounded on the northwest by Ball Glacier and on the southeast by Hooker Glacier, descending into Blue Glacier in the ...

* Terminus Mountain * The Pimple *

Transit Ridge Transit Ridge () is a ridge, 4 nautical miles (7 km) long, extending east from Royal Society Range between Spring Glacier and Mitchell Glacier, in Victoria Land. The name is one of a group in the area associated with surveying applied in 1993 b ...

* Tuati Peak * Umran Inan * Waiparahoaka Mountain * Walcott Glacier * Ward Glacier * Ward Lake *

Wirdnam Glacier Skelton Glacier is a large glacier flowing from the polar plateau into the Ross Ice Shelf at Skelton Inlet on the Hillary Coast, south of Victoria Land, Antarctica. Discovery and naming Named after the Skelton Inlet by the New Zealand party of ...

References

External links

*{{cite gvp, name=Royal Society Range, vn=390021, access-date=2021-06-24 Scott Coast Volcanoes of Victoria Land Cenozoic volcanism