The Caloplaca Hills () are a distinctive group of rock hills including Mount Carmer and Heathcock Peak, lying east of the

Watson Escarpment Watson Escarpment () is a major escarpment in the Queen Maud Mountains, trending northward along the east margin of Scott Glacier, then eastward to Reedy Glacier where it turns southward along the glacier's west side. Somewhat arcuate, the escarp ...

on the west side of

Reedy Glacier The Reedy Glacier is a major glacier in Antarctica, over 160 km (100 mi) long and from 10 to 19 km (6 to 12 mi) wide, descending from the polar plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf between the Michigan Plateau and Wisconsin Range, and ...

Exploration and naming

The Caloplaca Hills were mapped by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

(USGS) from surveys and from

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

aerial photographs, 1960–64. The name was suggested by

John H. Mercer John H. Mercer (19 October 1922 – 3 July 1987) was a British glaciologist, chiefly known for his theoretical work on, and field studies of Antarctic ice streams, especially in the Transantarctic Mountains and in West Antarctica. Following Joh ...

of the Institute of Polar Studies,

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

, after ''

Caloplaca ''Caloplaca'' is a lichen genus comprising a number of distinct species. Members of the genus are commonly called firedot lichen, jewel lichen.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, gold lichens, "or ...

'', the type of lichen found here.

Location

The Caloplaca Hills lie to the west of the Reedy Glacier, east of the Wotkyns Glacier, which flows north into the Reedy Glacier from the eastern part of the Watson Escarpment. They include Mount Carmer and Heathcock Peak. A 2005 map by Davis and Blankenship shows the Horlick Mountains including the eastern part of 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 and Reedy Glaciers and including the area from the head of the Ross Ice Shelf to the Antarct ...

and most of the Wisconsin Range. The Wisconsin Range may be taken to include the

south of the

Kansas Glacier Kansas Glacier () is a steep glacier, long, draining northeast from Stanford Plateau, Antarctica, to enter Reedy Glacier just north of Blubaugh Nunatak. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 19 ...

, the

Quartz Hills The Quartz Hills () is an arcuate cluster of largely ice-free hills and peaks found immediately south of Colorado Glacier along the west side of Reedy Glacier. They are part of the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. Discovery and naming ...

, the Caloplaca Hills and the

Cleveland Mesa Cleveland Mesa () is a high, ice-covered mesa, long and wide, situated at the southeast end of Michigan Plateau, Antarctica. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from surveys and from U.S. Navy air photos, 1960–64, and named by ...

, all in the Queen Maud Mountains to the west of the Reedy Glacier.

Features

Mount Carmer

. A mountain on the east side of Wotkyns Glacier, standing west-northwest of Heathcock Peak. Mapped by USGS from surveys and USN air photos, 1960–64. Named by the 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 John L. Carmer, electronics technician at Byrd Station in 1962.

Heathcock Peak

. A peak, high, located in the east part of Caloplaca Hills and overlooking the west edge of Reedy Glacier. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-64. Named by US-ACAN for Joe D. Heathcock, builder at Byrd Station in 1962.

References

Sources

* * * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Hills of Marie Byrd Land