The Brown Hills () are a group of mainly snow-free hills in the

Cook Mountains The Cook Mountains is a group of mountains bounded by the Mulock and Darwin glaciers in Antarctica. Parts of the group were first viewed from the Ross Ice Shelf by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–04). Additional portions of th ...

of Antarctica.

Location

The Brown Hills lie north of the lower reaches of Darwin Glacier. They are north of Diamond Hill and are adjacent to Diamond Glacier, a distributary of the Darwin Glacier. To the east they are bordered by the

Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between hi ...

. On the west side, the Touchdown Glacier flows south to the Darwin Glacier between Roadend Nunatak and the Brown Hills. Reeves Bluffs are to the north of the hills. The hills were named for their color by the Darwin Glacier Party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1956–58).

Geology

During glacial periods, Diamond Glacier would probably have flowed over the Brown Hills to the Ross Ice Shelf. Exposure ages of five glacial erratics from the Brown Hills range from 7,000 to 205,000 years ago, which implies that until 7,000 years ago the Brown Hills saddle was ice-covered. Simpson 2002 proposes that the Darwin calcic suite, a K-series, I-type, volcanic arc granitoid, includes the Carlyon Granitoid among other rock types. The Brown Hills are mostly made up of the Carlyon Granitoid, which includes an variably foliated, biotite-hornblende granodiorite and granite.

Glaciers

Bartrum Glacier

. A small steeply crevassed glacier in the Brown Hills, flowing west between Bowling Green Plateau and Blank Peaks. Mapped by the VUWAE (1962-63). Named after J.A. Bartrum (1885-1949), Professor of Geology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Foggydog Glacier

A glacier between Blank Peaks and Mount Rich in the Brown Hills. Mapped by the VUWAE (1962-63) and so named because in plan the glacier is shaped like the head and neck of a dog, with a moraine suggesting a collar and a glacial lake in the position of the ears. Fog accumulated regularly over the glacier.

Features

Bastion Hill

. A prominent ice-free feature in the Brown Hills, rising to and projecting southward into Darwin Glacier just east of Touchdown Glacier. The descriptive name was given by the Darwin Glacier Party of the CTAE (1956-58).

Mount Rich

An isolated peak in the Brown Hills, northwest of Diamond Hill. Named by the VUWAE (1962-63) for Charles C. Rich, USARP geologist who served as deputy leader and geologist of the expedition.

Erewhon Basin

. An extensive ice-free area forming a basin in the Brown Hills separating the snouts of the Foggydog and Bartrum Glaciers from the northern edge of the Darwin Glacier. Explored by the VUWAE, 1962-63, and named from Samuel Butler's novel Erewhon.

Goorkha Craters

. A line of snow-free coastal hills long, standing east of Cooper Nunatak between Carlyon and Darwin Glaciers. Discovered and named by the BrNAE (1901-04).

Blank Peaks

. A cluster of ice-free peaks occupying the isolated ridge between Bartrum and Foggydog Glaciers in the Brown Hills. Mapped by the VUWAE (1960-61) and named for H. Richard Blank, geologist with the expedition. Not: Blank Peninsula.

Bowling Green Plateau

. A small but prominent ice-covered plateau at the north side of the Brown Hills in the Cook Mountains. Named by the VUWAE (1962-63). Prof. Charles C. Rich, geologist and deputy leader of the VUWAE, was affiliated with Bowling Green State University, Ohio.

Bowling Green Col

. An ice-filled east–west col between Reeves Plateau and Bowling Green Plateau in the Cook Mountains. It was named by the

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 ...

in association with Bowling Green Plateau.

Gatson Ridge

. A jagged ridge, long with an elevation of 1158m. It runs east from the southern part of

Bowling Green Plateau Bowling Green Plateau () is a small but prominent ice-covered plateau at the north side of the Brown Hills in the Cook Mountains in Antarctica It was named by the Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition (VUWAE) (1962–63); Profess ...

in the Brown Hills of the Cook Mountains. It was named by the

after Karl W. Gatson of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a topographic engineer on the joint 1975–76 USGS –

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

project to establish control points for Landsat mosaics of

Palmer Land Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic N ...

, and to establish geodetically tied independent survey nets in the Ellsworth Mountains and

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

into a worldwide reference system using Doppler satellite control.

Wright Hill

. A large flat-topped hill at the east side of Bowling Green Plateau in the Cook Mountains. Mapped by the Darwin Glacier Party of the CTAE (1956-58). Named after D. Wright, a member of the CTAE who accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary to the South Pole.

References

Sources

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