The Humboldt Mountains are a group of

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 ...

s immediately west of the Petermann Ranges, forming the westernmost portion of the Wohlthat Mountains in

Queen Maud Land Queen Maud Land ( no, Dronning Maud Land) is a roughly region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west and the Australian Antarctic Territory 45° east. In addi ...

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 ...

History

The mountains were discovered and mapped by the

Third German Antarctic Expedition New Swabia (Norwegian and german: Neuschwabenland) was a disputed Antarctic claim by Nazi Germany within the Norwegian territorial claim of Queen Maud Land and is now a cartographic name sometimes given to an area of Antarctica between 20°E a ...

(1938–1939), led by Alfred Ritscher, who named them for

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

, famed German naturalist and geographer of the first half of the nineteenth century.

Historic monument

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pl ...

was erected at India Point () in the Humboldt Mountains in memory of three scientists of the Geological Survey of India, as well as a communications technician from the Indian Navy, all of whom were members of the ninth Indian Expedition to Antarctica, who died in an accident at the site on 8 January 1990. The plaque has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 78), following a proposal by India to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

Geological features

Mount Skarshovden

Mount Skarshovden () is a rounded

, 2,830 m, surmounting the western side of Hovdeskar Gap. It was discovered and photographed by the

, 1938–39, mapped by Norway from air photos and surveys by Norwegian Antarctic Expedition, 1956–60, and named Skarshovden ("the gap mountain").

Yanovskiy Rocks

Yanovskiy Rocks () are two isolated rock outcrops lying south of Mount Khmyznikov near the southeast end of the Humboldt Mountains. First mapped from air photos and surveys by

Soviet Antarctic Expedition The Soviet Antarctic Expedition (SAE or SovAE) (russian: Советская антарктическая экспедиция, САЭ, ''Sovetskaya antarkticheskaya ekspeditsiya'') was part of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of the S ...

, 1960–61, and named after Soviet hydrographer S.S. Yanovskiy.

References

Mountain ranges of Queen Maud Land Princess Astrid Coast Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica {{PrincessAstridCoast-geo-stub