Elena Peak ( bg, връх Елена, vrah Elena, ) is a 700 m peak in

Delchev Ridge Delchev Ridge (Delchev Hrebet \'del-chev 'hre-bet\) is the eastern ridge of the Tangra Mountains, Livingston Island extending 10 km east-northeastward from Devin Saddle to Renier Point. The ridge is named in association with its summit D ...

Tangra Mountains Tangra Mountains (in Bulgarian ''Тангра планина'', 'Tangra planina' \'tan-gra pla-ni-'na\) () form the principal mountain range of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The range had been nameless until 20 ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

. The peak surmounts

Sopot Ice Piedmont Sopot Ice Piedmont ( bg, ледник Сопот, lednik Sopot, ) is an ice piedmont situated on Burgas Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, northeast of Iskar Glacier and north of Ropotamo, Strandzha and Paut ...

to the north and Strandzha Glacier to the south, and was named after the Bulgarian town of

Elena Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...

. The east slopes of Elena Peak and the north side of

towards

Renier Point Renier Point () is a narrow point forming the east extremity of both Burgas Peninsula and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The feature was known to sealers as Point Renier as early as 1821. The name ‘Pin Point’, ...

, together with the adjacent portion of

are a popular site for

backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which i ...

and

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...

, with skiers landed by ''Zodiac'' rigid inflatable boats from cruise ships visiting the

Half Moon Island Half Moon Island is a minor Antarctic island, lying in McFarlane Strait north of Burgas Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula region. Its surface area is . The Argentine Cámara Base is locate ...

area.

Location

The peak is located at which is 2.29 km east-northeast of

Delchev Peak Delchev Peak ( bg, Делчев връх, Delchev vrah, ) is the summit of Delchev Ridge, Tangra Mountains, Livingston Island and rises to approximately 940 m. The peak surmounts Iskar Glacier to the west, Sopot Ice Piedmont to the north, and R ...

and 5.13 km west-southwest of

Elena Peak in popular culture

The cover of the VA album ''Under Heaven: Vinson Massif (2010)'' actually features a photo not of

Vinson Massif Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located ab ...

but of Delchev Ridge instead, with

Mugla Passage Mugla Passage ( bg, проток Мугла, ‘Protok Mugla’ \'pro-tok 'mu-gla\) is the 1.35 km wide passage between Half Moon Island and the north coast of Burgas Peninsula on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. ...

and

Vaptsarov Peak Vaptsarov Peak ( bg, Вапцаров връх, Vaptsarov vrah, ) rises to approximately 410 m in Delchev Ridge, Tangra Mountains, eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The peak has steep and ice free western slop ...

in the foreground, and (left to right) Elena Peak and

in the background. Both the picture and the misidentification may have possibly originated in the ‘Vinson Massif’ entry of the ‘Seven Summits Quest’ website.Vinson Massif.
''The Seven Summits Quest''. June 2008.

Maps

South Shetland Islands.
Scale 1:200000 topographic map No. 3373. DOS 610 – W 62 58. Tolworth, UK, 1968. * Islas Livingston y Decepción. Mapa topográfico a escala 1:100000. Madrid: Servicio Geográfico del Ejército, 1991. * S. Soccol, D. Gildea and J. Bath
Livingston Island, Antarctica.
Scale 1:100000 satellite map. The Omega Foundation, USA, 2004. * L.L. Ivanov et al., Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands (from English Strait to Morton Strait, with illustrations and ice-cover distribution), 1:100000 scale topographic map,

Antarctic Place-names Commission The Antarctic Place-names Commission was established by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute in 1994, and since 2001 has been a body affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. The Commission approves Bulgarian place names in ...

of Bulgaria, Sofia, 2005 * L.L. Ivanov. Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islands. Scale 1:120000 topographic map. Troyan: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2010. (First edition 2009. )
Antarctic Digital Database (ADD).
Scale 1:250000 topographic map of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), 1993–2016.

Notes

References

Elena Peak.
SCAR

Composite Antarctic Gazetteer The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about t ...

.
Bulgarian Antarctic Gazetteer.

. (details in Bulgarian
basic data
in English)

External links

Elena Peak.
Copernix satellite image Tangra Mountains {{Climbing-stub