The Churchill Mountains are a

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 ...

group of the

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

System, located in the

Ross Dependency The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a circular sector, sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160th meridian east, 160° east to 150th meridian west, 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60th para ...

region of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. They border on the western side of the Ross Ice Shelf, between Byrd Glacier and

Nimrod Glacier The Nimrod Glacier is a major glacier about 135 km (85 mi) long, flowing from the polar plateau in a northerly direction through the Transantarctic Mountains between the Geologists and Miller Ranges, then northeasterly between the Chu ...

. Several of the range's highest summits, including Mounts Egerton, Field, Nares, Wharton, and Albert Markham were first seen and named by the

Discovery Expedition The ''Discovery'' Expedition of 1901–1904, known officially as the British National Antarctic Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since the voyage of James Clark Ross sixty years earlier (1839–18 ...

of 1901–1904 (aka: British National Antarctic Expedition), under

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

The mountains were mapped in detail by the

USGS 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, a ...

from

Tellurometer The tellurometer was the first successful microwave electronic distance measurement equipment. The name derives from the Latin ''tellus'', meaning Earth. History The original tellurometer, known as the Micro-Distancer MRA 1, was introduced in 1 ...

surveys during 1960–61, and by

United States 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 ...

air photos in 1960. They were named by the

US-ACAN 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 ...

for Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

Mountains and peaks

;Mount Albert Markham Mount Albert Markham is a striking flat-topped

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 area, and is usually highe ...

, standing midway between Mount Nares and Pyramid Mountain. Discovered by the

and named for Admiral Sir

Albert Hastings Markham Admiral Sir Albert Hastings Markham (11 November 1841 – 28 October 1918) was a British explorer, author, and officer in the Royal Navy. In 1903 he was invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He is also remembered for desig ...

, a member of the Ship Committee for the expedition. ;Mount Egerton Mount Egerton is a mountain rising five km north-northwest of Mount Field. Discovered by the Discovery Expedition and named for Admiral Sir George Le Clerc Egerton, a member of the Arctic Expedition of 1875-1876, one of Scott's advisors for this expedition. ;Mount Field Mount Field is a mountain standing 5 km SSE of Mount Egerton. Discovered and named by the Discovery Expedition. ;Mount Frost Mount Frost is a mountain standing 4 mi S of Mount Zinkovich, at the southern side of the head of Silk Glacier. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for Lieutenant Col. Foy B. Frost, USAF, commanding officer of the Ninth Troop Carrier Squadron, which furnished

C-124 Globemaster The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is an American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Force (USA ...

airlift support between New Zealand and the Antarctic and from McMurdo Sound inland to Byrd, Eights, and South Pole Stations during U.S. Navy (USN) Operation Deep Freeze 1962. ;Mount Hamilton Mount Hamilton stands at the eastern edge of Kent Plateau, south of Mount Tuatara. Discovered by the Discovery Expedition and named for Admiral Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton, who served on Arctic voyages (1850–54) and was a member of the Ship Committee for this expedition. ;Mount Nares Mount Nares is a massive mountain located just south of Mount Albert Markham and overlooking the head of Flynn Glacier. Discovered by the Discovery Expedition led by Scott, who named it for Sir George S. Nares, captain of an Arctic expedition in 1875-76, and a member of the Ship Committee for Scott's expedition. ;Pyramid Mountain Pyramid Mountain is a conspicuous pyramidal mountain standing 4 mi N of Mount Albert Markham. Discovered and named by the Discovery Expedition. ;Mount Tuatara Mount Tuatara is a mountain standing on the southern side of Byrd Glacier, 7 mi N of Mount Hamilton. Mapped by the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE) (1960–61) who so named it because the long spiny summit ridge resembles a lizard. The

Tuatara Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name ''tuatara'' is derived from the Māori language and m ...

is a reptile endemic to New Zealand. ;Turk Peak Turk Peak is a large hump-shaped peak being the central of three peaks on a ridge 6 mi N of Mount Zinkovich. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for Lieutenant Col. Wilbert Turk, commander of the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron which initiated the flights of C-130 Hercules aircraft in Antarctica in January 1960. ;Mount Wharton Mount Wharton is a mountain standing 8.8 km (5.5 mi) west of Turk Peak. Discovered by the Discovery Expedition and named for Sir William Wharton, Hydrographer to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, 1884-1904. ;Young Peaks Young Peaks is a group of

peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...

s along a ridge running west–east, starting 5 km east of Mount Coley. The feature is 5 km long with summits rising above 1200 m. Flanked by Lee Glacier at north and Jorda Glacier at south. Named in honor of

Pamela Young Pamela Margaret Young (née Rawlinson) was the first New Zealand woman to live and work in Antarctica. In 1969–70, she worked at Cape Bird as field assistant to her husband Euan, a biologist, and was among the first six women to fly to the So ...

who was the first female event member in the New Zealand Antarctic Research Program (NZARP). ;Mount Zinkovich Mount Zinkovich is a pointed mountain standing 4 miles (6 km) north of Mount Frost at the north side of the head of Silk Glacier. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for Lieutenant Colonel Michael Zinkovich,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

(USAF), commanding officer of the 1710th Aerial Port Squadron, which furnished airlift support between

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and Antarctica, and from

McMurdo Sound McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo ...

inland to

Byrd Byrd commonly refers to: * William Byrd (c. 1540 – 1623), an English composer of the Renaissance * Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), an American naval officer and explorer Byrd or Byrds may also refer to: Other people * Byrd (surname), includin ...

, Eights, and

South Pole Station South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

s during U.S. Navy

Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze (OpDFrz or ODF) is codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There w ...

1962.

Sub−ranges

Sub−ranges of the Churchill Mountains include: ;Carlstrom Foothills ;Carnegie Range ;Cobham Range ;Darley Hills ;Holyoake Range ;Nash Range ;Surveyors Range

Other features

* Ahern Glacier * Algie Knoll * Alligator Eyes *

Black Icefalls Black Icefalls () is a line of icefalls at the south margin of Chapman Snowfield, Churchill Mountains. The icefalls extend southwest from Mount Massam to Vance Bluff, and were named in honor of A. W. Black, a member of the 1959 Cape Hallett Cape ...

Bradshaw Peak Bradshaw Peak () is a peak rising to , south east of Turk Peak, Churchill Mountains. It is situated on the south west side of McLay Glacier. The peak was named in honor of Margaret Bradshaw, geological scientist, University of Canterbury. Marg ...

* Brecher Glacier * Byrd Glacier * Carlstrom Foothills * Carr Crest * Cerberus Peak *

Chapman Snowfield Chapman Snowfield () is a large snowfield lying west of the central ridge in the Churchill Mountains, bounded to the north by Elder Peak and the massif surmounted by Mount Wharton, to the south by Soza Icefalls, Black Icefalls and the head of St ...

* Cooper Snowfield * Cupcake Peaks * Donnally Glacier * East Egerton *

Elder Peak Elder Peak () is a peak at the north margin of Chapman Snowfield in the Churchill Mountains of Antarctica. The peak rises to southwest of Mount Wharton. It was named after William C. Elder, a United States Geological Survey The United State ...

* Entrikin Glacier *

Festive Plateau Festive Plateau () is an ice-covered plateau over high, about long and wide, just north of Mount Longhurst in the Churchill Mountains of Antarctica. It was named by two members of the Darwin Glacier Party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Exp ...

* Flynn Glacier * Gamble Glacier * Horseshoe Nunatak * Jorda Glacier * Keating Massif *

Kelly Plateau Kelly Plateau () is an ice-covered plateau, about long and from wide, on the east side of the Churchill Mountains, Antarctica, between the lower parts of Jorda Glacier and Flynn Glacier. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names ...

* Kent Plateau * Kilroy Bluff * Kiwi Pass * Lee Glacier * Mansergh Wall * McLay Glacier * Miscast Nunataks * Mount Coley *

Mount Durnford Cooper Snowfield () is a snowfield with an area of about in the Churchill Mountains of Antarctica. Location The snowfield rises to over and is nearly encircled by ridges connecting Mount Field, Mount Durnford, and Mount Liard. It was named a ...

* Mount Frost *

Mount Hubble Cooper Snowfield () is a snowfield with an area of about in the Churchill Mountains of Antarctica. Location The snowfield rises to over and is nearly encircled by ridges connecting Mount Field, Mount Durnford, and Mount Liard. It was named a ...

Mount Liard Cooper Snowfield () is a snowfield with an area of about in the Churchill Mountains of Antarctica. Location The snowfield rises to over and is nearly encircled by ridges connecting Mount Field, Mount Durnford, and Mount Liard. It was named a ...

Mount Massam Mount Massam () is a broad ice-covered mountain about west of Mount Lindley, in the Churchill Mountains of Antarctica. It was named by the Holyoake, Cobham, and Queen Elizabeth Ranges Party of the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expediti ...

* Mount Moa * Mount Morse *

* Peacock Heights * Prior Cliff * Reid Bluff * Roberts Pike *

Rutland Nunatak Rutland Nunatak () is a cone-shaped nunatak with associated rock outcrops, 2070 m, in the west part of Chapman Snowfield, Churchill Mountains. The nunatak is 10 nautical miles (18 km) east-northeast of Wilhoite Nunataks. Named by Advisory ...

* Silk Glacier * Sivjee Glacier * Sleek Spur *

Soza Icefalls Soza Icefalls () is a line of icefalls nearly high at the southern margin of Chapman Snowfield in the Churchill Mountains. The icefalls extend southwest for from Mount Massam, ending near the head of Starshot Glacier. They were named after Ezek ...

* Stark Ridge * Swithinbank Range * Taniwha Cove

References

{{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Ross Dependency Transantarctic Mountains Shackleton Coast

Mountains and peaks

Sub−ranges

Other features

See also

References