Cape Lyttelton () is a cape forming the southern entrance point of Shackleton Inlet, along the western edge of the

Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between h ...

, Antarctica.

Location

Cape Lyttelton lies between Cape Goldie and Shackleton Inlet, along the western edge of the

, Antarctica. It is on an "island" formed where Lowery Glacier diverges from

Ross Glacier Ross Glacier () is a glacier 6 miles (10 km) long, flowing east from the juncture of Allardyce and Salvesen Ranges to Little Moltke Harbour, Royal Bay, on the north coast of South Georgia. First mapped by the German group of the Internat ...

. Lowery Glacier flows along the west of the island to join the

Nimrod Glacier The Nimrod Glacier is a major glacier about 135 km (85 mi) long, flowing from the polar plateau in a northerly direction through the Transantarctic Mountains between the Geologists and Miller Ranges, then northeasterly between the Chur ...

, which flows along the north of the island into Shackleton Inlet and the

. Ross Glacier flows along the southeast of the island to the Ross Ice Shelf. The Holland Range is to the south, and the Queen Elizabeth Range to the east. Cape Lyttelton was discovered by the

British National Antarctic Expedition The ''Discovery'' Expedition of 1901–1904, known officially as the British National Antarctic Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since the voyage of James Clark Ross sixty years earlier (1839–18 ...

(1901–04) and named after

Lyttelton, New Zealand Lyttelton (Māori: ''Ōhinehou'') is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. As a landin ...

. The ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

'' started on the last lap of its journey south from Lyttelton, where very generous assistance was given the expedition.

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

reports sighting the cape in his diary. According to ''Sailing Directions for Antarctica'' (1976):

Features

The island holds Campbell Hills, Mount Christchurch, Oliver Glacier, Taylor Hills and Whakawhiti Saddle.

Campbell Hills

. Group of hills west-south-west of Cape Lyttelton on the south side of Nimrod Glacier. Mapped by the USGS from tellurometer surveys and Navy air photos, 1960-62. Named by US-ACAN for William J. Campbell, USARP glaciologist at the Ross Ice Shelf, 1962-63.

Seelig Peak

. An ice-free peak, high, which marks the summit of Campbell Hills on the southern side of Nimrod Glacier. The peak stands northwest of Mount Christchurch, a mountain named after Christchurch, New Zealand, by Captain R.F. Scott’s British National Antarctic Expedition (BrNAE), 1901-04. In 2005, in association with Mount Christchurch, the New Zealand Geographic Board named this peak after Walter R. Seelig (1919-2005), the National Science Foundation Representative in Christchurch during eleven U.S. Antarctic Research Program (USARP) austral deployments between 1971 and 1986 (Mount Seelig, q.v.). Seelig was accompanied in the Christchurch sojourns by his wife, Josephine Seelig.

Mount Christchurch

. Mountain, high, standing southwest of Cape Lyttelton on the south side of Shackleton Inlet. Discovered by the BrNAE (1901-04) and named for the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, which generously supported the expedition.

Oliver Glacier

. Glacier draining the area west and south of Mount Christchurch and entering Lowery Glacier just north of the Taylor Hills. Mapped by the USGS from tellurometer surveys and Navy air photos, 1960-62. Named by US-ACAN for Edward J. Oliver, USARP glaciologist at South Pole Station, 1961-62.

Taylor Hills

. A line of ice-covered hills bordering the east side of Lowery Glacier between

Oliver Glacier Oliver Glacier is a glacier located on the northeast coast of the Baffin Mountains on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. It is just outside Sirmilik National Park. See also *List of glaciers A glacier ( ) or () is a persistent body of dense ice ...

and Robb Glacier. Mapped by the USGS from tellurometer surveys and Navy air photos, 1960-62. Named by US-ACAN for Lawrence D. Taylor, USARP glaciologist at South Pole Station, 1963-64.

Whakawhiti Saddle

. A low, broad snow saddle between Oliver Glacier and the lower portion of Robb Glacier, close east of Taylor Hills. Traversed by the southern party of the NZGSAE (1959-60) and so named because Whakawhiti is a Maori word meaning "crossing over."

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyttelton, Cape Headlands of the Ross Dependency Shackleton Coast