Van Reeth Glacier () is a tributary

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 ...

about 20 nautical miles (37 km) long, draining westward to Scott Glacier between Mounts Blackburn and Bowlin, in the

Queen Maud Mountains The Queen Maud Mountains are a major group of mountains, ranges and subordinate features of the Transantarctic Mountains, lying between the Beardmore and Reedy Glaciers and including the area from the head of the Ross Ice Shelf to the Antarctic P ...

. It was discovered in December 1934 by the

Byrd Antarctic Expedition Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

geological party under

Quin Blackburn Quin may refer to: * Quin (name), including a list of people with the name * Quin, colloquially, one of a set of quintuplets, a multiple birth of five individuals * Quin (Sigilverse), a fictional planet * Quin, County Clare, a village in County ...

, and was named by the

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 Commander Eugene W. Van Reeth, a pilot with U.S. Navy Squadron

VX-6 Air Development Squadron Six (VX-6 or AIRDEVRON SIX, commonly referred to by its nickname, "puckered penguins") was a United States Navy Air Development Squadron based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Established at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, ...

in Antarctica during

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 ...

1966, 1967 and 1968, and

squadron commander Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

in 1969. Later in his career, Commander Van Reeth was promoted to captain, and eventually became the commanding officer of Operation Deep Freeze Task Force 43 in the 1970s.

References

Glaciers of Marie Byrd Land {{MarieByrdLand-geo-stub