Victoria Upper Névé
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Victoria Valley () is an extensive ice-free valley, formerly occupied by a large glacier, extending from Victoria Upper Glacier to Victoria Lower Glacier in
Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78th parallel south, 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Ant ...
, Antarctica. It is one of the larger
McMurdo Dry Valleys The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of largely Antarctic oasis, snow-free valleys in Antarctica, located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The Dry Valleys experience extremely low humidity and surrounding mountains prevent the flow of ...
.


Name

Victoria Valley was named by the
Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition The Antarctic Research Centre (ARC) is part of the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington. Its mission is to research " Antarctic climate history and processes, and their influence on the global cl ...
(VUWAE: 1958-59) after their Alma Mater
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...
which sponsored the expedition.


Location

The Victoria Valley is one of the
McMurdo Dry Valleys The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of largely Antarctic oasis, snow-free valleys in Antarctica, located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The Dry Valleys experience extremely low humidity and surrounding mountains prevent the flow of ...
. The head of the Victoria Valley, which contains the Victoria Upper Glacier, is south of the
Clare Range The Clare Range () is the range extending west-southwest from Sperm Bluff to the Willett Range on the south side of Mackay Glacier, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It is south of the Convoy Range and north of the Olympus Range. Exploration and na ...
. The valley descends south-southeast between
Saint Johns Range Saint Johns Range () is a crescent-shaped mountain range about long, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It is bounded on the north by the Cotton Glacier, Miller Glacier and Debenham Glacier, and on the south by Victoria Valley and the Victoria Upper G ...
to the east and the
Cruzen Range The Cruzen Range () is a mountain range that rises to in Vashka Crag and extends west to east for between Salyer Ledge and Nickell Peak in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Victoria Land, Antarctica. The range is bounded to north, east, south and west ...
to the west. It is joined from the west by the
Barwick Valley Barwick Valley () is an ice-free valley north of Apocalypse Peaks, extending from Webb Glacier to Victoria Valley in Victoria Land, Antarctica. A large part of the valley has been designated an Antarctic Specially Protected Area because of its pri ...
, and then south of
Mount Insel The Insel Range () is a series of ice-free flat-topped peaks resembling islands which rise above the surrounding terrain and separate McKelvey Valley from Balham Valley, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was so named by the Victoria University of ...
by the
McKelvey Valley McKelvey Valley () is a valley between the western part of the Olympus Range and the Insel Range, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. Exploration and naming The McKelvey Valley was named by the Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition ( ...
, below which Lake Vida lies across the valley. The valley continues in an east-northeast direction. The Packard Glacier descends part way into it from the north and the Clark Glacier extends part way into it from the south. At the foot of the valley Victoria Lower Glacier flows into the
Wilson Piedmont Glacier Wilson Piedmont Glacier () is a large piedmont glacier extending from Granite Harbour to Marble Point on the coast of Victoria Land. Discovery and name The Wilson Piedmont Glacier was discovered by the ''Discovery'' expedition, 1901–1904. ...
, which extends along the west coast of the
Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who ...
.


Features

Features of the Victoria Valley, from its head to its foot, include Victoria Upper Glacier, Victoria Upper Lake, Lake Vida, Packard Glacier, Clark Glacier, Victoria Lower Glacier, Baldwin Valley and Staeffler Ridge.


Victoria Upper Névé

,}. A
névé Névé is a young, granular type of snow which has been partially melted, refrozen and compacted, yet precedes the form of ice. This type of snow can contribute to glacier formation through the process of ''nivation''. Névé that survives a ...
with an area of about at the head of Victoria Upper Glacier. The névé lies between Clare Range and Cruzen Range eastward of The Fortress. 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) (2005) in association with Victoria Upper Glacier.


Victoria Upper Glacier

. Glacier occupying the upper northwest end of Victoria Valley. Named by the Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition (VUWAE: 1958-59) for their Alma Mater which sponsored the expedition.


Victoria Upper Lake

. A meltwater lake at the terminus of Victoria Upper Glacier. Named for its position at the terminus of the glacier by American geologist Parker E. Calkin, in 1964.


Deshler Valley

. A mostly ice-free valley between
Spain Peak Saint Johns Range () is a crescent-shaped mountain range about long, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It is bounded on the north by the Cotton Glacier, Miller Glacier and Debenham Glacier, and on the south by Victoria Valley and the Victoria Upper G ...
and
Morse Spur Saint Johns Range () is a crescent-shaped mountain range about long, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It is bounded on the north by the Cotton Glacier, Miller Glacier and Debenham Glacier, and on the south by Victoria Valley and the Victoria Upper G ...
in Saint Johns Range. The valley opens south to Victoria Valley. Named by US-ACAN (2005) after Terry Deshler, Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY; United States Antarctic Project (USAP) investigations addressing quantitative ozone loss and related research, 13 field seasons 1990-2004.


Kite Stream

. A meltwater stream that flows west from Victoria Lower Glacier into Lake Vida. Named by US-ACAN after James Stephen Kite, University of Maine, geological field assistant with the Victoria Valley party, 1977-78. In the course of field search for meteorites, Kite found a 43-pound meteorite iron in a moraine inland from Victoria Lower Glacier.


Lake Vida

. A lake lying north of Mount Cerberus in the Victoria Valley. Named by the VUWAE (1958–59) after Vida (Vaida), a sledge dog of the BrAE, 1910-13.


Murphy Valley

. An upland valley on the northeast side of Mount Booth in east Olympus Range. The valley opens north to Victoria Valley. Named by US-ACAN (2004) after Kenneth W. Murphy, Jr., United States Geological Survey (USGS) cartographic technician, a member of United States Geological Survey (USGS) satellite surveying teams at the South Pole Station during two winters, 1981 and 1987.


Malin Valley

. An upland valley on the west side of Mount Cerberus in east Olympus Range. The valley opens north to Victoria Valley. Named by US-ACAN (2004) after Michael C. Malin, Department of Geology, Arizona State University; United States Antarctic Project (USAP) abrasion rate observations in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, 1983-84 to 1993-94.


Cerberus Valley

. An upland valley between Mount Cerberus and Euros Ridge in east Olympus Range. The valley opens north to Victoria Valley.


Packard Glacier

. Glacier just west of
Purgatory Peak Saint Johns Range () is a crescent-shaped mountain range about long, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It is bounded on the north by the Cotton Glacier, Miller Glacier and Debenham Glacier, and on the south by Victoria Valley and the Victoria Upper G ...
in the Saint Johns Range, flowing south into Victoria Valley. Mapped and named by the VUWAE, 1958–59, for Andrew Packard, summer biologist who worked in this area with the N.Z. party of the CTAE in 1957-58.


Lake Thomas

. A meltwater lake that is circumscribed on the northwest and northeast sides by Robertson Ridge and Clark Glacier. Named by US-ACAN for Robert H. Thomas who participated in United States ArmyRP studies of the surface glaciology of the Ross Ice Shelf in the 1973–74 and 1974-75 seasons.


Clark Glacier

. Glacier between Mount Theseus and Mount Alien, occupying a low pass in the east part of the Olympus Range. Named by the VUWAE, 1958–59, for Professor R.H. Clark, head of the Geology Dept., Victoria University of Wellington, who was immediately responsible for the sponsoring of the expedition.


Baldwin Valley

. Ice-filled valley in the Saint Johns Range, lying northwest of Pond Peak. Named by US-ACAN for Russel R. Baldwin, United States Navy, who was in charge of the Airfield Maintenance Branch at McMurdo Station in 1962.


Victoria Lower Glacier

. Glacier occupying the lower eastern end of Victoria Valley where it appears to merge with Wilson Piedmont Glacier. Named by the Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition (1958–59) for their Alma Mater, which sponsored the expedition.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Valleys of Victoria Land McMurdo Dry Valleys