Schmidt Glacier () is a
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
, 0.7
nautical mile
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...
s (1.3 km) long, flowing west from
Baudissin Glacier
Baudissin Glacier () is a tidewater glacier on the north side of Heard Island. in the southern Indian Ocean. Located 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) west of Challenger Glacier, Baudissin Glacier is 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) wide and flows ...
between
Mount Drygalski
Mount Drygalski is an ice-free hill, high, standing southeast of Atlas Cove, near the northwest end of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. The feature appears to have been roughly charted on an 1882 sketch map compiled by Ensign Washingt ...
and
North West Cornice North West Cornice () is a narrow rock ridge descending in a northwest direction from Big Ben (Heard Island), Big Ben on Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Heard Island, and terminating at Schmidt Glacier (Heard Island and McDonald Islands), Schmidt ...
, on the west side of
Heard Island
The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size ...
in the southern
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
.
To the north of Schmidt Glacier is
Baudissin Glacier
Baudissin Glacier () is a tidewater glacier on the north side of Heard Island. in the southern Indian Ocean. Located 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) west of Challenger Glacier, Baudissin Glacier is 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) wide and flows ...
, whose terminus is located at the western side of Corinthian Bay, near
Sealers Cove.
Kildalkey Head is west of Schmidt Glacier. To the south of Schmidt Glacier is
Vahsel Glacier
Vahsel Glacier () is a glacier on the northwestern side of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. It flows west into South West Bay, between Erratic Point and Cape Gazert. Immediately to the north of Vahsel Glacier is Schmidt Glacier, whose t ...
, whose terminus is at
South West Bay
South West Bay () is an open bay indenting the west side of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Heard Island immediately north of Cape Gazert in the southern Indian Ocean. The bay was roughly charted on an 1860 sketch map compiled by Captain H.C. Ch ...
, between
Erratic Point and
Cape Gazert Cape Gazert () is a cape at the western end of the rocky promontory which forms the south side of South West Bay, on the west side of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. This feature was known to American sealers as "Green Point", as shown by ...
. Immediately south of Vahsel Glacier is
Allison Glacier. Clic
hereto see a map of Schmidt Glacier and the northwestern coast of Heard Island.
Discovery and naming
Schmidt Glacier was roughly charted in 1902 by the
1st German Antarctic Expedition under
Erich von Drygalski
Erich Dagobert von Drygalski (; February 9, 1865 – January 10, 1949) was a German geographer, geophysicist and polar scientist, born in Königsberg, East Prussia.
Between 1882 and 1887, Drygalski studied mathematics and natural science at t ...
. He named it for Dr.
J. Schmidt of the
Royal Prussian Ministry, who assisted in obtaining government support for the expedition.
[
]
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*Clic
here
to see a map of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, including all major topographical features
Australian Antarctic Division
Australian Antarctic Gazetteer
Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica
Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee (AANMC)
United States Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)
{{Authority control
Glaciers of Heard Island and McDonald Islands