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

Lurabee Glacier Stefansson Strait () is an ice-filled strait long and wide, between the east coast of Palmer Land and Hearst Island, Antarctica. Location Stefansson Strait is on the Wilkins Coast of Palmer Land, beside the Weddell Sea to the east. It is east ...

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 Stefansson Strait () is an ice-filled strait long and wide, between the east coast of Palmer Land and Hearst Island, Antarctica. Location Stefansson Strait is on the Wilkins Coast of Palmer Land, beside the Weddell Sea to the east. It is east ...

. They are northeast of the

Eternity Range The Eternity Range () is a range of mountains long, rising to , and trending north–south approximately in the middle of the Antarctic Peninsula. The range is divided into three main mountain blocks, the major summits in each from north to south ...

, east of Wakefield Highland and southeast of Hitchcock Heights. The

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 Sir George Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar (31 October 188830 November 1958), commonly referred to as Captain Wilkins, was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer. He was awarded the Military Cross aft ...

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 East Base on Stonington Island is the oldest American research station in Antarctica, having been commissioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939. The station was built as part of two US wintering expeditions – United States Antarctic Service Exp ...

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 (RARE), 1947. This pass was used by a Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (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.

References

Sources

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