The Whitmore Mountains () are an isolated

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 ...

of the

Transantarctic Mountains The Transantarctic Mountains (abbreviated TAM) comprise a mountain range of uplifted (primarily sedimentary rock, sedimentary) rock in Antarctica which extend, with some interruptions, across the continent from Cape Adare in northern Victoria La ...

System, located in the

Marie Byrd Land Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of , it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It was named after the wife of American naval officer Richard E. Byrd, who explored the region in the early 20th centur ...

region of

West Antarctica West Antarctica, or Lesser Antarctica, one of the two major regions of Antarctica, is the part of that continent that lies within the Western Hemisphere, and includes the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from East Antarctica by the Transant ...

. They consist of three mountains and a cluster of

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 extending over 15 miles. The group was visited and surveyed on January 2, 1959, by William H. Chapman, cartographer with the Horlick Mountains Traverse Party (1958–59). The mountains were named by Chapman for George D. Whitmore, Chief Topographic Engineer of 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, ...

(USGS), who was a member of the Working Group on Cartography of the

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is an interdisciplinary body of the International Science Council (ISC). SCAR coordinates international scientific research efforts in Antarctica, including the Southern Ocean. SCAR's scien ...

Geological features

Linck Nunataks

Linck Nunataks () is a group of four small, ice-covered

s at the southeast end of the Whitmore Mountains. Three of the nunataks are together and aligned while the fourth lies 2.5 miles distant. They were visited and surveyed on January 2, 1959, by the Horlick Mountains Traverse Party. William H. Chapman, party surveyor, proposed the naming for M. Kerwin Linck, Chief of the Branch of Special Maps of the USGS.

Mount Radlinski

Mount Radlinski () is a rounded, smooth, ice-covered mountain (2,750 m) rising 4 miles southeast of Mount Seelig in the northeast part of the Whitmore Mountains. It was surveyed on January 2, 1959, by William H. Chapman, a member of the

Horlick Mountains Traverse The Horlick Mountains Traverse, along with the Little America-Byrd Station Traverse and the Sentinel Mountains Traverse, was one of three Antarctic traverses performed by Dr. Charles Bentley and his team before and during the International Geophys ...

(1958–59). Mount Radlinski was named by Chapman after William A. Radlinski,

(USGS) photogrammetrist, 1949–79; associate director of USGS, 1969–79; president,

American Society of Photogrammetry The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is an American learned society devoted to photogrammetry and remote sensing. It is the United States' member organization of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remot ...

, 1968; president,

International Federation of Surveyors International Federation of Surveyors (abbreviated FIG, after the french: Fédération Internationale des Géomètres) is the UN-recognized global organization for the profession of surveying and related disciplines. It was established in 1878,

, 1973–75.

Mount Seelig

Mount Seelig () is the largest and highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in the Whitmore Mountains, rising to at the northeast end of the group. It was surveyed on January 2, 1959, by William H. Chapman of USGS, a member of the Horlick Mountains Traverse Party, 1958–59. He named the mountain after Walter R. Seelig,

Office of Polar Programs An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

, 1960–86, who developed the USGS-NSF plan for topographic mapping of Antarctica; NSF Representative in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, N.Z., during eleven

United States Antarctic Research Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...

(USARP) austral seasons between 1971 and 1986, including seventeen trips to Antarctica and adjacent seas; member,

United States 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 ...

, 1973–86; chairman, 1976–86.

References

{{reflist Mountain ranges of Marie Byrd Land Transantarctic Mountains