Witches Cauldron () is an ice-filled basin on the west side of the
Douglas Range
The Douglas Range () is a sharp-crested range, with peaks rising to 3,000 metres, extending 120 km (75 mi) in a northwest–southeast direction from Mount Nicholas to Mount Edred and forming a steep east escarpment of Alexander Island ...
, immediately west of
Mount Egbert
Mount Egbert () is a mainly ice-covered mountain, high, south-southeast of Mount Stephenson in the Douglas Range of Alexander Island, Antarctica. It was possibly first seen in 1909 by the French Antarctic Expedition under Jean-Baptiste Charco ...
in the north part 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, Antar ...
,
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 co ...
. The basin was first sighted from the air and roughly mapped by the
British Graham Land expedition in 1937. More accurately mapped from air photos taken by the
Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition
The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE) was an expedition from 1947–1948 which researched the area surrounding the head of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica.
Background
Finn Ronne led the RARE which was the final privately sponsored ex ...
in 1947–48, by Searle of the
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 on ...
in 1960. Named by the
UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee
The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) and ...
for the feature's kettle-like shape.
References
*
Structural basins of Antarctica
Valleys of Alexander Island
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