Morris Heights () are a relatively smooth ice-covered heights, forming a peninsula-like divide between Beaver Glacier and King Glacier at the north end of the

Queen Alexandra Range The Queen Alexandra Range is a major mountain range of the Transantarctic Mountains System, located in the Ross Dependency region of Antarctica. It is about long, bordering the entire western side of Beardmore Glacier from the Polar Plateau to ...

Name

Morris Heights were named by the 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 ...

(US-ACAN) for Lieutenant Clarence T. Morris,

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 ...

, aerology officer on the staff of the Commander, U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, 1962 and 1963.

Location

Morris Heights are in the northeast of the Queen Alexandra Range between Beaver Glacier and King Glacier. Mount Gunner rises from the south of the heights. McCann Point is at the north end. Nearby features include Mount Nickerson and Yeates Bluff on the peninsula to the northwest at the mouth of Lennox-King Glacier, Mount Ida, Granite Pillars, Cape Allen, The Gateway and Mount Hope on the peninsula to the southeast at the mouth of

Beardmore Glacier The Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica is one of the largest valley glaciers in the world, being long and having a width of . It descends about from the Antarctic Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf and is bordered by the Commonwealth Range of the Queen ...

, and Mount Fox and Mount F. L. Smith to the south.

Features

Features include:

Mount Gunner

. A partially snow-covered peak high that rises from the southern part of Morris Heights. The peak was examined by the Ohio State University Geological Party, 1967-68. Named by US-ACAN for John D. Gunner, Ohio State University geologist and a member of the party to this and other Antarctic localities in three summer seasons, 1967-70.

Beaver Glacier

. A glacier, long, draining the coastal mountains just northwest of Mount Fox and entering Ross Ice Shelf at McCann Point. Named by the

New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition The New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE) describes a series of scientific explorations of the continent Antarctica. The expeditions were notably active throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Features named by the expeditions 1957 ...

(NZGSAE) (1959-60) after the Beaver aircraft City of Auckland, which crashed in this area in January 1960.

McCann Point

. A point marking the east side of the mouth of Beaver Glacier, where the latter enters Ross Ice Shelf. Named by US-ACAN for K.A. McCann, Master of the USNS ''Pvt. Joseph F. Menell'' during United States 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 ...

1965.

King Glacier

. A glacier close northwest of Mount Ida, flowing north into the Ross Ice Shelf. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Hugh A. King, MC, United States Navy, officer in charge at

Hallett Station Cape Hallett is a snow-free area ( Antarctic oasis) on the northern tip of the Hallett Peninsula on the Ross Sea coast of Victoria Land, East Antarctica. Cape Adare lies to the north. History In 1956, during Operation Deep Freeze II, was dama ...

, 1964.

Nearby features

Mount Nickerson

. A broad mountain, high, standing between Lennox-King and Beaver Glaciers, southwest of Yeates Bluff. Named by US-ACAN for Commander N.E. Nickerson, United States Navy, commanding officer of USS Edisto during United States Navy OpDFrz 1965.

Yeates Bluff

. A steep, mainly ice-covered bluff surmounted by a high peak at its north end, standing between Lennox-King and Beaver Glaciers, northeast of Mount Nickerson. Named by NZGSAE (1959-60) for Peter A. Yeates, for two seasons radio operator at Scott Base.

Mount Ida

. A conspicuous bare rock mountain, high, standing west of Granite Pillars, just southeast of the head of King Glacier. Discovered by the

British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09 The ''Nimrod'' Expedition of 1907–1909, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three successful expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton and his second expedition to the Antarctic. Its main target, ...

(BrAE), and named for Ida Jane Rule of

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 / ...

, New Zealand, who later married Edward Saunders, Secretary to

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

, who assisted in preparing the narrative of the expedition.

Granite Pillars

. Conspicuous ice-free rock pillars at the west side of lower Beardmore Glacier, east of Mount Ida. Discovered by BrAE (1907-09), and first named the "Cathedral Rocks," but changed later to avoid confusion with a feature of that name in the Royal Society Range.

Mount Hope

. A low but conspicuous mountain, high, marking the west side of the terminus of Beardmore Glacier, at its confluence with the Ross Ice Shelf. Discovered by the BrAE (1907-09) and so named because the Polar Party, after ascending this mountain in the hope of finding a route to the South Pole, saw the great Beardmore Glacier stretching to the south as far as they could see.

Mount Fox

. A mountain, high, standing southwest of Mount F. L. Smith. Discovered and named by the BrAE (1907-09).

Mount F. L. Smith

. A mountain, high, standing northeast of Mount Fox. Discovered by the BrAE (1907-09) and named for F.L. Smith, London tobacconist, who was a supporter of the expedition.

References

Sources

* * *{{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Hills of Oates Land