Hallett Peninsula () is a triangular, dome-shaped

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

, long, with cliffs on its eastern seaboard side and on its west side. The peninsula extends from

Cape Hallett Cape Hallett is a snow-free area ( Antarctic oasis) on the northern tip of the Hallett Peninsula on the Ross Sea coast of Victoria Land, East Antarctica. Cape Adare lies to the north. History In 1956, during Operation Deep Freeze II, was dama ...

Cape Wheatstone Cape Wheatstone () is a bold rock cape that forms the south end of Hallett Peninsula and marks the north entrance to Tucker Inlet, Victoria Land. Discovered in January 1841 by Sir James Clark Ross who named it for Sir Charles Wheatstone Si ...

and is joined to the mainland by a narrow ridge between Tucker Glacier and

Edisto Inlet Edisto Inlet () is a rectangular arm of Moubray Bay, long and wide, entered between Cape Hallett Cape Hallett is a snow-free area ( Antarctic oasis) on the northern tip of the Hallett Peninsula on the Ross Sea coast of Victoria Land, East Antarc ...

. It was so named by the

New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition The New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE) describes a series of scientific explorations of the continent Antarctica. The expeditions were notably active throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Features named by the expeditions 1957 ...

, 1957–58, because

Hallett Station Cape Hallett is a snow-free area ( Antarctic oasis) on the northern tip of the Hallett Peninsula on the Ross Sea coast of Victoria Land, East Antarctica. Cape Adare lies to the north. History In 1956, during Operation Deep Freeze II, was dama ...

Seabee Hook Seabee Hook is a low, recurved spit composed of coarse volcanic ash which projects about west from the high rocky ridge forming Cape Hallett, along the coast of Victoria Land. In January 1956, members of the US Navy's Operation Deep Freeze abo ...

was established at the north end of the peninsula. The peninsula is an elongated

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 v ...

complex similar to the Adare and Daniell peninsulas. It forms part of the Hallett Volcanic Province of the

McMurdo Volcanic Group The McMurdo Volcanic Group is a large group of Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the western Ross Sea and central Transantarctic Mountains areas of Antarctica. It is one of the largest provinces of alkaline volcanism in the world, having formed as a res ...

Basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic lava of the Hallett Peninsula has been dated to 6.4 ± 0.4 million years old.

References

Peninsulas of Antarctica Landforms of Victoria Land Borchgrevink Coast Volcanoes of Victoria Land Shield volcanoes Miocene shield volcanoes {{BorchgrevinkCoast-geo-stub

See also

References