Scripps Heights () are rugged heights which are largely ice-covered, surmounting the peninsula between Casey Glacier and Lurabee Glacier on the east coast of

Palmer Land Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic N ...

, Antarctica. Deeply scarred by glaciers, the heights terminate on the east in Cape Walcott.

Location

Scripps Heights are near the

Wilkins Coast Wilkins Coast is that portion of the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula between Cape Agassiz and Cape Boggs. Name Wilkins Coast was named by the United States Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for Sir Hubert Wilkins, who in a pion ...

of northeastern

, beside the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha C ...

to the east. They are southwest of Casey Inlet and northwest of Stefansson Strait. They are northeast of the Eternity Range, east of Wakefield Highland and southeast of Hitchcock Heights. The Lurabee Glacier flows east-northeast along the southeast margin of Scripps Heights to enter the sea south of Casey Inlet. The Casey Glacier flows northeast and then east along the northwest margin of the heights to enter Casey Inlet. Features include Cape Walcott at the eastern end and Hogmanay Pass at the western end.

Discovery and name

Scripps Heights were discovered by Sir Hubert Wilkins in his pioneer flight on December 20, 1928. Thinking the feature to be a large island lying between two great transverse channels which completely severed the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. ...

, he named it "Scripps Island" for William Scripps of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan. Correlation of aerial photographs taken by

Lincoln Ellsworth Lincoln Ellsworth (May 12, 1880 – May 26, 1951) was an American polar explorer, engineer, surveyor, and author. He led the first Arctic and Antarctic air crossings. Early life Linn Ellsworth was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 12, 1880. His ...

in 1935 and preliminary reports of the findings of the British Graham Land expedition (BGLE) under

John Rymill John Riddoch Rymill (13 March 1905 – 7 September 1968) was an Australian polar explorer, who had the rare second clasp added to his Polar Medal. Early life Rymill was born at Penola, South Australia, the second son of Robert Rymill (7 J ...

, 1934–37, led W. L. G. Joerg to interpret this to be a peninsula. In published reports, members of the BGLE have concurred in this interpretation which was also borne out by the results of subsequent flights and a sledge trip from East Base by members of the

United States Antarctic Service 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 ...

(USAS) in 1940.

Features

Cape Walcott

. A bold, ice-covered headland rising to high, forming the seaward extremity of Scripps Heights. Discovered by Sir Hubert Wilkins in 1928 and named by him for Frederic C. Walcott of the Council of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...

Hogmanay Pass

. A pass high, immediately southwest of Scripps Heights, leading from the head of Casey Glacier to the middle of Lurabee Glacier. The feature was first photographed from the air by

in November 1935, and its southern portion was plotted from these photos by W.L.G. Joerg. It was rephotographed by the USAS, 1940, and by the

Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE) was an expedition from 1947–1948 which researched the area surrounding the head of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. Background Finn Ronne led the RARE which was the final privately sponsored exp ...

(RARE), 1947. This pass was used by a

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) was an aerial survey of the Falkland Islands Dependencies The Falkland Islands Dependencies was the constitutional arrangement from 1843 until 1985 for administering the v ...

(FIDS) survey party in December 1960 and provided a good sledge route. So named because the pass was approached on the last day of 1960, the Scottish feast of

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots language, Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 ...

References

Sources

* * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Mountains of Palmer Land