Vahsel 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 ...
on the northwestern 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 ...
. It flows west into
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 to the north of Vahsel Glacier is
Schmidt Glacier, whose terminus is located 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 ...
. To the south of Vahsel Glacier is
Allison Glacier, whose terminus is located south of Cape Gazert, which separates Allison Glacier from Vahsel Glacier. Clic
hereto see a map of Vahsel Glacier and the northwestern coast of Heard Island.
Discovery and naming
Vahsel Glacier was charted in 1902 by the
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 ...
.
[ A landing party was sent ashore near ]Atlas Cove
Atlas Cove is a cove on the north coast of Heard Island and McDonald Islands in the southern Indian Ocean, and is entered between the base of the Laurens Peninsula and Rogers Head.
It was named by American sealers after the schooner seal hunting ...
on 3 February 1902. Drygalski named the glacier for Richard Vahsel
Richard Vahsel (9 February 1868 – 8 August 1912) was a German naval officer who served as second officer on the Antarctic ''Gauss'' expedition, under command of Erich von Drygalski. In 1911, Vahsel was controversially appointed as captain ...
, an officer of the landing party of the Gauss expedition who conducted investigations near Atlas Cove. Vahsel was later captain of Wilhelm Filchner
Wilhelm Filchner (13 September 1877 – 7 May 1957) was a German army officer, scientist and explorer. He conducted several surveys and scientific investigations in China, Tibet and surrounding regions, and led the Second German Antarctic Expeditio ...
's ''Deutschland''; he died in August 1912 during the drift of the ''Deutschland''.[
]
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*Clic
here
to see a map of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, including all major topographical features
Australian Antarctic DivisionAustralian Antarctic GazetteerComposite Gazetteer of AntarcticaAustralian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee (AANMC)United States Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)
{{Glaciers of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Glaciers of Heard Island and McDonald Islands