The Holmes Hills () are a group of ridges and

nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit ''nunataq'') is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They are also called glacial islands. Examples are natural pyramidal peaks. ...

s rising to about between

Runcorn Glacier Runcorn Glacier () is a glacier to the west of Hess Mountains in Antarctica. It flows southeast to join Beaumont Glacier near the head of Hilton Inlet, Black Coast, Palmer Land. The glacier was mapped by United States Geological Survey (USGS) f ...

and

Beaumont Glacier Beaumont Glacier () is a broad glacier flowing in a northeast direction to the southwest part of Hilton Inlet, on the east coast of Palmer Land. The United States Antarctic Service discovered and photographed it from the air in 1940. It was resigh ...

, bounded to the southwest by the

Brennecke Nunataks The Brennecke Nunataks () are a group of large nunataks on the north side of the head of Beaumont Glacier, to the southwest of the Holmes Hills in south-central Palmer Land. They were mapped by the United States Geological Survey from aerial photo ...

, in south-central

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 ...

, Antarctica. They were mapped by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

from aerial photographs taken by the

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 o ...

, 1966–69, and surveyed by the

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 ...

, 1972–73. In association with the names of continental drift scientists grouped in this area, the hills were 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 1978 after Scottish geologist

Arthur Holmes Arthur Holmes (14 January 1890 – 20 September 1965) was an English geologist who made two major contributions to the understanding of geology. He pioneered the use of radiometric dating of minerals, and was the first earth scientist to grasp ...

, Professor of Geology at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, 1943–56.

References

Ridges of Palmer Land Nunataks of Palmer Land {{PalmerLand-geo-stub