Beacon Valley () is an ice-free

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

between

Pyramid Mountain Pyramid Mountain can refer to: ;Antarctica * Pyramid Mountain (Antarctica), in the Quartermain Mountains ;Canada *Pyramid Mountain (Alberta) in Jasper National Park, Alberta * Pyramid Mountain (Garibaldi Provincial Park) in Garibaldi Provincial P ...

and

Beacon Heights The Beacon Heights () are a small cluster of peaks between Beacon Valley and Arena Valley in Quartermain Mountains, Victoria Land, rising to in West Beacon, and also including East Beacon and South Beacon. They were named by Hartley Ferrar, ...

, in

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. It ...

. It was mapped by the

British Antarctic Expedition, 1910–13 The ''Terra Nova'' Expedition, officially the British Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition to Antarctica which took place between 1910 and 1913. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition had various scientific and geographical objec ...

, and named by the

Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition The Antarctic Research Centre (ARC) is part of the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington. Its mission is to research "Antarctic climate history and processes, and their influence on the global clima ...

(VUWAE) (1958–59) after Beacon Heights.

Named features

Beacon Valley includes several smaller geographic features, named during various scientific surveys. * Profile Bluff (), a prominent

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

(2,070 m) midway between Mount Weller and Horizon Bluff on the west side of the valley. Named in 1993 by the

New Zealand Geographic Board The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) was established by the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946, which has since been replaced by the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008. Althoug ...

(NZGB). * Horizon Bluff (), a steep bluff at the head of the valley, rising to . It is west of

Friedmann Valley Friedmann Valley is one of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, located west of Rector Ridge at the head of Beacon Valley, in the Quartermain Mountains, Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named in 1992 by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after E. Imre ...

. Named in 1993 by the NZGB. *Rector Ridge (), a bold rock ridge at the head of the valley, rising to 2,105 m. It was named in 1992 by

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica. History The committee was established ...

(US-ACAN) after Commander

Jack Rector Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

Antarctic Development Squadron Six Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE-6 or ANTARCTIC DEVRON SIX, commonly referred to by its nickname, The Puckered Penguins) was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California with forwa ...

(

VXE-6 Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE-6 or ANTARCTIC DEVRON SIX, commonly referred to by its nickname, The Puckered Penguins) was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California with forwa ...

), May 1987 to May 1988. * Vestal Ridge (), a steep rock ridge in southeast Beacon Valley, rising to 2,240 m and forming the divide between

Mullins Valley Mullins Valley () is a four mile long valley located at 5,400 ft elevation in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. It is one of the few dry valleys in the world to contain rock glaciers. US Antarctic Program (USAP) research has dated the subsurface ice i ...

and

Farnell Valley Farnell Valley () is an ice-free valley, long, a tributary to Beacon Valley, descending to the latter from the southeast side, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names in 1964 for James B.H. Farnell, ...

. It was named by US-ACAN in 1993 after J. Robie Vestal (1942–1992), a microbiologist at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

whose research in Antarctica focused on adaptations of microbial ecosystems to the extreme environments.

Astrobiological characteristics

The central region of Beacon valley is considered to be one of the best terrestrial analogues for the current conditions on Mars. There is snowdrift and limited melting around the edges and occasionally in the central region, but for the most part, moisture is only found as thin films of brine around permafrost structures. It has slightly alkaline salt rich soil.

References

* Valleys of Victoria Land Scott Coast {{ScottCoast-geo-stub