Two Step Cliffs () is the eastern face of a flat-topped sedimentary
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 ...
, rising to about 680 m, immediately east of
Mars Glacier on the east coast of
Alexander Island
Alexander Island, which is also known as Alexander I Island, Alexander I Land, Alexander Land, Alexander I Archipelago, and Zemlja Alexandra I, is the largest island of Antarctica. It lies in the Bellingshausen Sea west of Palmer Land, Antarc ...
,
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 ...
. At the bottom of the cliffs is the
Two Step Moraine. First seen from the air by
Lincoln Ellsworth
Lincoln Ellsworth (May 12, 1880 – May 26, 1951) was a polar explorer from the United States and a major benefactor of the American Museum of Natural History.
Biography
Lincoln Ellsworth was born on May 12, 1880, to James Ellsworth and Eva F ...
on November 23, 1935, and mapped from photos obtained on that flight by
W.L.G. Joerg. Roughly surveyed from the ground in 1936 by the
British Graham Land Expedition and in 1940-41 by the
United States Antarctic Service
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 ...
, who used the names "Two Step Mountains" and "Table Mountain" for this feature. The name Two Step Cliffs derives from the name used by USAS, and was suggested by
Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic o ...
following surveys in 1949 as being particularly descriptive of this feature.
Mountains of Alexander Island
{{AlexanderIsland-geo-stub