
Elena Peak (, ) is a 700 m peak in
Delchev Ridge,
Tangra Mountains
Tangra Mountains (in Bulgarian ''Тангра планина'', 'Tangra planina' \'tan-gra pla-ni-'na\) () form the principal mountain range of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The range had been nameless until ...
on
Livingston Island
Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetland Islands, South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands north of the ...
in the
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...
. The peak surmounts
Sopot Ice Piedmont to the north and
Strandzha Glacier to the south, and was named after the Bulgarian town of
Elena.
The east slopes of Elena Peak and the north side of
Delchev Ridge towards
Renier Point, together with the adjacent portion of
Sopot Ice Piedmont are a popular site for
backcountry skiing
Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, freeriding or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine s ...
and
climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...
, with skiers landed by ''Zodiac'' rigid inflatable boats from cruise ships visiting the
Half Moon Island area.
Location
The peak is located at which is 2.29 km east-northeast of
Delchev Peak and 5.13 km west-southwest of
Renier Point.
Elena Peak in popular culture
The cover of the
VA album ''Under Heaven: Vinson Massif (2010)'' actually features a photo not of
Vinson Massif
Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located ab ...
but of Delchev Ridge instead, with
Mugla Passage and
Vaptsarov Peak in the foreground, and (left to right) Elena Peak and
Delchev Peak in the background. Both the picture and the misidentification may have possibly originated in the ‘Vinson Massif’ entry of the ‘Seven Summits Quest’ website.
Vinson Massif.
''The Seven Summits Quest''. June 2008.
Maps
South Shetland Islands.
Scale 1:200000 topographic map No. 3373. DOS 610 – W 62 58. Tolworth, UK, 1968.
* Islas Livingston y Decepción. Mapa topográfico a escala 1:100000. Madrid: Servicio Geográfico del Ejército, 1991.
* S. Soccol, D. Gildea and J. Bath
Livingston Island, Antarctica.
Scale 1:100000 satellite map. The Omega Foundation, USA, 2004.
* L.L. Ivanov et al., Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands (from English Strait to Morton Strait, with illustrations and ice-cover distribution), 1:100000 scale topographic map, Antarctic Place-names Commission
The Antarctic Place-names Commission was established by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute in 1994, and since 2001 has been a body affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bulgaria), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.
The Commis ...
of Bulgaria, Sofia, 2005
* L.L. Ivanov. Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islands. Scale 1:120000 topographic map. Troyan: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2010. (First edition 2009. )
Antarctic Digital Database (ADD).
Scale 1:250000 topographic map of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), 1993–2016.
Notes
References
Elena Peak.
SCAR Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about th ...
.
Bulgarian Antarctic Gazetteer.
Antarctic Place-names Commission
The Antarctic Place-names Commission was established by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute in 1994, and since 2001 has been a body affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bulgaria), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.
The Commis ...
. (details in Bulgarian
basic data
in English)
External links
Elena Peak.
Copernix satellite image
{{Bulgarian-named Antarctic place
Tangra Mountains