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The Erb Range () is a rugged mountain range rising to between Kosco Glacier and Shackleton Glacier 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 Glacier, Beardmore and Reedy Glaciers and including the area from the head of the Ross Ice Sh ...
, and extending north from Anderson Heights to Mount Speed on the west side of the
Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between high ...
.


Discovery and naming

The range was photographed from aircraft of the
United States Antarctic Service Expedition The United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939–1941), often referred to as Byrd's Third Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition jointly sponsored by the United States Navy, United States Department of State, State Department, United St ...
, 1939–41, and surveyed by A.P. Crary, leader of the U.S. Ross Ice Shelf Traverse, 1957–58. It 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 ...
in 2008 after Karl A. Erb who played a major role in guiding the
United States Antarctic Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...
as both the
National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
(NSF) Senior Science Advisor in the mid 1990s and subsequently as Director of the Office of Polar Programs from 1998 until 2007 and beyond. During his tenure as the Senior Science Advisor, he helped to guide NSF through the process of justifying and then securing Congressional funding for the redevelopment of the
South Pole Station South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
.


Location

Extending north from Anderson Heights the features along the west side of the lower Shackleton Glacier include (from south to north) Mount Butters, just north of the Mincey Glacier, Thanksgiving Point, Mount Greenlee, Held Glacier, Epidote Peak, Geyasimou Glacier, Mount Cole, Forman Glacier, Mount Franke, Mount Wasko, McGinnis Peak, Oppegaard Spur and Mount Speed.


Features

Features, from north to south, include:


Mount Speed

. A roughly circular, mound-shaped mountain with several low summits at the edge of
Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between high ...
, standing at the west side of the mouth of Shackleton Glacier. Discovered by the
United States Antarctic Service Expedition The United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939–1941), often referred to as Byrd's Third Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition jointly sponsored by the United States Navy, United States Department of State, State Department, United St ...
(USAS) (1939–41), and surveyed by Albert P. Crary, leader of the United States Ross Ice Shelf Traverse (1957–58). Named by Crary for Lieutenant Harvey G. Speed,
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
, 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 Rive ...
, who wintered at
Little America V Little America was a series of Antarctic exploration bases from 1929 to 1958, located on the Ross Ice Shelf, south of the Bay of Whales. They were built on ice that is moving very slowly, the relative location on the ice sheet, has moved and eventu ...
in 1957.


Oppegaard Spur

. A narrow rock spur, long, extending northwest from the southwest portion of Mount Speed, standing just east of Kosco Glacier where the latter enters Ross Ice Shelf. Discovered and photographed by the United States Antarctic Service, 1939–41. Named by United States
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 Richard D. Oppegaard, Seaman Apprentice, United States Navy, a member of the United States Naval Support Force, Antarctica, who lost his life in a shipboard accident, Nov. 8, 1957.


McGinnis Peak

. A prominent peak high, with a large, bare cirque in the north slope, standing near the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, just E of the lower part of Kosco Glacier and SW of Oppegaard Spur. Discovered by the USAS, 1939-41. Surveyed by A.P. Crary in 1957-58, and named by him for Lyle McGinnis, seismologist with the United States Victoria Land Traverse Party in 1958-59.


Mount Wasko

. A double-peaked, saddle-shaped mountain high, on the west side of Shackleton Glacier, north of Mount Franke. Discovered by the USAS (1939–41), and surveyed by A.P. Crary (1957–58). Named by Crary for Lt. Cdr. Frank Wasko, USNR, of Squadron VX-6 at Little America V in 1957-58.


Mount Franke

. A prominent mountain (), with much rock exposed on its north side, standing between Mount Wasko and Mount Cole along the west side of Shackleton Glacier, Discovered and photographed by the USAS, 1939–41. Surveyed by A.P. Crary in 1957-58 and named by him for Lt. Cdr. Willard J. Franke, USN, of USN Squadron VX-6, who wintered at Little America V, 1958.


Mount Cole

. A mountain over high on the west side of Shackleton Glacier, between the mouths of Forman and Gerasimou Glaciers. Discovered and photographed by United States Navy Operation Highjump, 1946-47. Named by US-ACAN for Nelson R. Cole, Aviation Machinist's Mate with USN Squadron VX-6, who lost his life in a helicopter crash in the McMurdo Sound area in July 1957.


Epidote Peak

. A prominent rock peak just north of the mouth of Held Glacier, overlooking the west side of Shackleton Glacier. So named by the Texas Tech Shackleton Glacier Party (1964-65) because of the abundance of the mineral
epidote Epidote is a calcium aluminium iron sorosilicate mineral. Description Well developed crystals of epidote, Ca2Al2(Fe3+;Al)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH), crystallizing in the monoclinic system, are of frequent occurrence: they are commonly prismatic in ha ...
which gives the peak a spotted appearance.


Mount Greenlee

. A steep-sided, jagged mountain (2,030 m) of metamorphic rock which overlooks the west side of Shackleton Glacier just east of Mount Butters. Named by F. Alton Wade, leader of the Texas Tech Shackleton Glacier Party (1962-63), for David W. Greenlee, a member of the party.


Thanksgiving Point

. A conspicuous rock
nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit language, Inuit ) is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They often form natural pyramidal peaks. Isolated nunataks are also cal ...
at the west side of Shackleton Glacier, just north of the mouth of Mincey Glacier. So named by the Texas Tech Shackleton Glacier Party (1962-63) because they reached this point on Thanksgiving Day, 1962.


Mount Butters

. The snowcapped summit, high, of a buttress-type escarpment at the extreme southeast end of Anderson Heights, between Mincey Glacier on the south and Shackleton Glacier on the east. Discovered and photographed by United States Navy Operation Highjump (1946-47) on the flights of Feb. 16, 1947, and named by US-ACAN for Capt. Raymond J. Butters, USMC, navigator of Flight 8A.


Anderson Heights

. A roughly rectangular snow-covered tableland, long and wide, with an elevation somewhat over high, located between Mount Bennett and Mount Butters in the east part of the Bush Mountains. Discovered and photographed by United States Navy Operation Highjump (1946-47) on the flights of Feb. 16, 1947, and named by US-ACAN for Lt. George H. Anderson, United States Navy, pilot of Flight 8 of that date from Little America to the South Pole and return.


References


Sources

* * * *{{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Mountain ranges of the Ross Dependency