Mount Bird is a high

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more vi ...

standing about south of Cape Bird, the northern extremity of

Ross Island Ross Island is an island formed by four volcanoes in the Ross Sea near the continent of Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound. Ross Island lies within the boundaries of Ross Dependency, an area of Antarctica claimed by N ...

. It was mapped by the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, under

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

, and apparently named by them after Cape Bird. Endeavour Piedmont Glacier lies on its slopes. There are several western lobes of the Mount Bird icecap. One of these is Quaternary Icefall, which descends steeply into Wohlschlag Bay 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Cinder Hill. The site was mapped and so named by the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE), 1958–59, because of the Quaternary glacial period marine shells carried by the

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 over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

and deposited in terminal moraines. Another such lobe is Shell Glacier.

References

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Mount Bird
, Volcano World Volcanoes of Ross Island Polygenetic shield volcanoes Pliocene shield volcanoes {{RossIsland-geo-stub

See also

References