The MacDonald Hills () are a compact group of exposed rock hills in the

Asgard Range The Asgard Range is a mountain range in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It divides Wright Valley from Taylor Glacier and Taylor Valley, and was named by the Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition (1958–59) after Asgard, the home o ...

, east of

Commonwealth Glacier Commonwealth Glacier is a glacier which flows in a southeasterly direction and enters the northern side of Taylor Valley immediately west of Mount Coleman, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was charted by the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910� ...

on the north side of lower

Taylor Valley Taylor Valley is the southernmost of the three large McMurdo Dry Valleys in the Transantarctic Mountains, Victoria Land, Antarctica, located west of McMurdo Sound at approximately . The valley extends from Taylor Glacier in the west to McMurdo So ...

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 ...

, Antarctica. They are separated from

Hjorth Hill Hjorth Hill () is a rounded, ice-free mountain, high, standing just north of New Harbour and south of Hogback Hill, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. The hill is separated from the MacDonald Hills by Quinn Gully. It was charted by the British Antar ...

Quinn Gully New Harbour is a bay about wide between Cape Bernacchi and Butter Point along the coast of Victoria Land, due west of Ross Island. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–04) and so named because this new harbo ...

. 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 ...

(US-ACAN) (1997) after William R. MacDonald (1925–77), Chief of the Branch of International Activities,

U.S. 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, and ...

, and a member of the US-ACAN, part of the

U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

, 1976–77.

Named features

Peaks

* Mount Coleman: . *

Harp Hill Harp Hill () is a detached hill, high, that is triangular in plan, the northwest and southeast sides of which are defined by ridgelike rock exposures, located at the north side of the MacDonald Hills in the Asgard Range of Victoria Land Vict ...

: *

Mount Knox Mount Knox () is a peak rising to about at the west extremity of the MacDonald Hills in the Asgard Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It is found on the north side of Taylor Valley. It was named by the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) in 199 ...

Cirques

Territory Cirque is wide and occupies the southernmost part of the hills on the north wall of

. At elevation, the cirque rises above the terminus of Commonwealth Glacier immediately southward. Colony Cirque is a

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

immediately east of

. Both were named 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 ...

in 1998 for methods of administrating land, complementing the adjacent Commonwealth Glacier, named earlier by Captain R. F. Scott after the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

References

Asgard Range Hills of Victoria Land McMurdo Dry Valleys {{McMurdoDryValleys-geo-stub

Named features

Peaks

Cirques

See also

References